Raila Odinga, veteran Kenyan opposition leader, dies at 80

Raila Odinga, the former Prime Minister and long-time opposition leader of Kenya, has died at the age of 80.

A source within Odinga's office confirmed his passing to Reuters on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, but provided no immediate details surrounding his death.

Earlier reports from the Indian newspaper, Mathrubhumi, suggested that Odinga, who had been receiving medical treatment in the southern Indian city of Kochi, suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

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He was reportedly rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Odinga was one of Kenya's most prominent political figures, defined by a career spanning decades of democracy activism and five unsuccessful, yet fiercely contested, presidential bids.

His political legacy is also marked by conflicts.

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Two of his presidential election losses — a decade apart — led to chaotic periods of violence and political tensions.

Most notably, he led mass protests following the disputed 2007 Election, which plunged Kenya into one of its most serious episodes of political violence since gaining independence.

The ensuing bloodshed resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

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