Who was Raila Odinga?

• Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga passed away in Kerala following a cardiac arrest on October 15. He was 80.

• He had arrived at Koothattukulam in Kerala’s Ernakulam district for Ayurvedic treatment. 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and hailed Odinga as a towering statesman and a cherished friend of India.

A towering figure in Kenya’s political history

• Kenya’s veteran opposition leader Raila Amolo Odinga was a towering figure in the country’s political history.

• Odinga was born on January 7, 1945.

• He was the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya’s first Vice President.

• He spent his early years in politics either in jail or in exile, fighting for democracy during the autocratic rule of President Daniel arap Moi.

• He spent most of his adult life in politics, including eight years in prison as a pro-democracy campaigner. He never achieved his goal of becoming Kenya’s President, despite five attempts.

• A member of the Luo tribe, he entered Parliament in 1992.

• It was during his years as a legislator that he came into his own as a national figure, with massive support among people disaffected by official corruption and poverty.

• He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022.

• Odinga led protests after the disputed 2007 election that plunged Kenya into its most serious political violence since independence.

• The 2007 polls unleashed ethnic violence that pitted the Luo and Kalenjin tribes against the Kikuyu community, costing more than 1,000 lives.

• Odinga became Prime Minister in a power-sharing deal aimed at stopping the violence, a post that was later abolished under a new constitution in 2010.

• He organised multiple protests for the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1991 and a new constitution in 2010.

• His supporters called him “Baba” (Father), “Agwambo” (Unpredictable), and “Tinga” (Tractor) — drawn from his party's symbol.