Former Kenyan Prime Minister and veteran opposition leader Raila Amolo Odinga, a towering Pan-African statesman and lifelong champion of democracy, has died at the age of 80.
Odinga passed away on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, while undergoing treatment at the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre in Koothattukulam, Kerala, India.
According to family and hospital sources, the former premier suffered a cardiac arrest during his morning walk within the hospital grounds. Medical personnel rushed to his aid but were unable to revive him.
Odinga, often described as one of Africa’s most influential political figures, was in India receiving specialized treatment at the same facility where his daughter, Rosemary Odinga, had previously sought care for optic nerve damage.
He was a renowned Kenyan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and has been the Official Leader of Opposition in Kenya since 2013.
A Legacy of Defiance and Democracy
Born on January 7, 1945, Raila Odinga was the son of Kenya’s first Vice President, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and became synonymous with the country’s pro-democracy struggles in the 1980s and 1990s.
Detained multiple times by past regimes for his political activism, Odinga emerged as a resilient voice for multiparty democracy and human rights. He served as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013 under a power-sharing deal following Kenya’s disputed 2007 elections.
Known fondly as “Baba” — Swahili for “father” — Odinga’s charisma, reformist zeal, and Pan-African vision earned him admirers and critics alike, both at home and abroad.
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