Sema Fonkem 15/10/2025

Raila Amolo Odinga, former Kenyan prime minister who served from 2008 to 2013 has passed on at the age of 80.

Mr. Odinga died today during a morning walk while on a trip to India. The Devamatha Hospital in Kerala, southern India said in a statement.

While tributes continue to pour in from around the world, incumbent president of Kenya, His Excellency William Ruto has declared a seven-day mourning period to be accompanied by a state funeral.

As a renowned politician, Mr. Odinga played a pivotal role in shaping the multiparty democratic system in Kenya.

 “Colossus of Kenya’s modern politics, an indomitable warrior in our struggle for freedom and prosperity,” president Ruto said while describing late Odinga as an epitome of positive change in Kenyan politics.

Although Mr. Odinga was unsuccessful in all the five times he ran for office of president and constantly complained of election fraud each time he lost, he remained firm in his desire to see that the country prospered by rendering support to governmental and non-profit organisations.

Mr. Odinga who was suffering from hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes had been treated five days at an ayurvedic hospital. A cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed there before he was transferred to Devamatha, where doctors pronounced him dead about two hours after his arrival.

A delegation including members of Mr. Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party led by the party’s secretary general, Senator Edwin Sifuna, has been deployed to India to retrieve Mr. Odinga’s body.