NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 — Veteran opposition leader Raila Amolo Odinga has died, official sources confirmed on Wednesday following weeks of rumours on his health, ending a political chapter that spanned more than four decades and defined Kenya’s multi-party era.
Raila, who died on Wednesday at the age of 80 while undergoing treatment in India, was a towering figure in the country’s democratic journey — admired and contested in equal measure for his resilience, reformist zeal, and five spirited but unsuccessful bids for the presidency.
Since his first attempt at the top seat in 1997, Raila — fondly known by his supporters as Baba (Father) and Agwambo (The Mysterious One) — remained a constant presence in Kenya’s shifting political landscape.
Over five presidential bids, he inspired millions, unsettled regimes, and left an indelible mark on the nation’s democratic journey.
From Presidents Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta to William Ruto, Odinga has remained a permanent feature in national politics — often from the trenches of the opposition.
Born in 1945, Raila was the son of Kenya’s first Vice President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, whose fallout with President Jomo Kenyatta defined a family legacy of political dissent.
After studying engineering in East Germany, Raila returned to Kenya during the repressive rule of President Daniel arap Moi.
In 1982, he was detained without trial over allegations of involvement in a failed coup attempt. Nearly a decade in detention turned him into a symbol of defiance — and a fearless voice for democracy.
Raila’s first bid for the presidency came in 1997 under the National Development Party (NDP).
Finishing third behind Moi and Democratic Party leader Mwai Kibaki, his performance marked his emergence as a formidable national figure.
In a surprising twist, Raila later struck a cooperation deal with Moi’s KANU in 2001, merging NDP into the ruling party and joining the Cabinet as Energy Minister. To his critics, it was opportunism; to his allies, it was strategic engagement with power.
As Moi’s tenure neared its end, Raila broke ranks with KANU over Moi’s choice of Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor.
Rallying key dissidents, he helped form the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), whose unity was sealed by Raila’s iconic “Kibaki Tosha” declaration amid jostling among opposition figures.
When NARC triumphed in the 2002 General Election, Kibaki named Raila Minister for Roads, Public Works and Housing, tasking him with key infrastructure projects.
A clash over constitutional reform and governance ideals would however lead to a bitter fallout with President Kibaki, setting the stage for Raila’s next political chapter, where he successfully led a revolt against Kibaki’s draft constitution in 2005.
The 2005 referendum for a new constitution saw the birth of the Orange Movement, which led the ‘No’ campaign, with Raila transforming it into the present-day Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) — the party he used to contest the 2007 presidential election against Kibaki.
The Electoral Commission, however, declared Kibaki the winner of the disputed election, triggering widespread violence that claimed more than 1,000 lives — marking one of Kenya’s darkest moments.
International mediation led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan birthed a Grand Coalition Government, in which Kibaki named Raila Prime Minister — a role that brought stability despite constant wrangling over power-sharing arrangements.
In 2013, running on an ODM ticket, Raila led the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) against Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto’s Jubilee Alliance but lost despite a spirited campaign, securing 43.7 per cent of the vote.
The Supreme Court dismissed his challenge to the electoral outcome.
Raila made his fourth presidential run in 2017 as leader of the National Super Alliance (NASA), successfully challenging the outcome at the Supreme Court.
Despite the court annulling the vote citing irregularities — a landmark decision and the first in Africa — Raila boycotted the repeat poll, demanding electoral reforms.
In early 2018, he staged a symbolic “swearing-in” as the People’s President, challenging President Kenyatta’s legitimacy, but later stunned the nation when he appeared at the steps of Harambee House for a “Handshake” to ease political tensions.
The 2018 truce gave rise to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a constitutional review effort seen as a platform to secure Kenyatta a role in a future Raila government. The BBI process, however, suffered a blow after the court declared it unconstitutional.
In 2022, backed by Kenyatta, Raila mounted his fifth presidential bid under the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya coalition, with Martha Karua as his running mate — the first woman on a major ticket in Kenya’s history.
Again, Raila lost narrowly to Ruto and later lost a legal challenge to the results in court.
Following the election, Raila continued to reject Ruto’s presidency, leading nationwide anti-government protests over the cost of living and alleged electoral injustice.
In February 2023, in a move some actors linked to the government, the African Union Commission discontinued his continental role as High Representative for Infrastructure Development following the transformation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) into the African Union Development Agency (AUDA).
AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat announced the transition, praising Raila for his contribution to the continental infrastructure agenda.
The end of his AU assignment came just days before he issued a 14-day ultimatum to President Ruto to respond to a raft of opposition demands, including halting the recruitment of a new electoral commission.
President Ruto dismissed the ultimatum, warning that impunity would not be tolerated, as the two leaders’ rivalry deepened both at home and across Africa’s diplomatic stage.
Two years later, in February 2025, Raila launched a bid for the African Union Commission Chairmanship, with Ruto — once his political nemesis — leading an aggressive campaign across the continent in support of his candidacy.
Raila led in the first round with twenty votes and briefly extended his tally to twenty-two in the second round before Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf overtook him, eventually clinching victory in the seventh round with thirty-three votes.
The outcome marked Kenya’s second failed attempt to secure the AU leadership, following Amina Mohamed’s loss to Chad’s Moussa Faki in 2017.
In March 2025, weeks after the defeat, Raila formalized a working arrangement with President Ruto — his longtime rival turned partner — signaling a new chapter of pragmatic cooperation in a political career defined by both confrontation and compromise.
