Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga dies at 80

(Photo credit: AFP news agency)

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, a source in his office told Reuters on Wednesday. Indian newspaper The Hindu reported that Odinga died at an Ayurvedic eye hospital-cum-research centre at Koothattukulam in Ernakulam district of Kerala on Wednesday (October 15, 2025). Media reports have revealed that Odinga suffered a cardiac failure during his morning walk on the campus.

Odinga, a prominent opposition leader, ran for President five times but was never elected. Despite these defeats, he played a pertinent role in shaping Kenya’s democratic landscape, helping to bring about multiparty democracy in 1991 and a new constitution in 2010. He also led protests after the disputed 2007 election, a period marked by violent clashes that left around 1,300 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Odinga’s decades-long activism cemented his legacy as a leading figure in Kenya’s fight for democratic reforms and political accountability.