The Fight Is Over for Kenya's 'Father of Democracy'

Raila Odinga, the enduring face of Kenya's fight for democracy and a towering figure in African politics, has died in India at age 80, leaving a nation to mourn one of its most influential leaders. The former prime minister and longtime opposition leader collapsed Wednesday during a morning walk while receiving medical care in India, his family told the BBC. Devamatha Hospital reported he suffered cardiac arrest and could not be revived. Hours after his passing, Kenyan President William Ruto called Odinga a "once-in-a-generation leader" and the "father of our democracy" and announced seven days of national mourning, along with a state funeral.

World leaders echoed the tributes, including India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who mourned a "cherished friend of India." Kenyan officials and Odinga's widow are traveling to India to oversee arrangements for the return of his body. Meanwhile, crowds gathered in Odinga's strongholds to grieve a man who never secured the presidency despite five attempts—often rejecting results he said were rigged. The disputed 2007 election "led to the biggest crisis in Kenya's history," triggering 1,200 deaths, per the BBC. It ultimately led to a power-sharing deal and Odinga's appointment as prime minister, a position he held until 2013.

A decade later, Kenya's high court annulled the results of the 2017 elections, but Odinga boycotted the redo as part of his call for electoral reform. A public handshake with then-President Uhuru Kenyatta ended months of post-election tension. Odinga's latest bid was to become chairperson of the African Union Commission, though he lost the vote earlier this year. The son of Kenya's first vice-president, he fought against Daniel arap Moi's dictatorship in the 1980s and was detained for years as a political prisoner before entering parliament in 1992, per AFP. He remains a symbol of resistance and reform.