Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, a family source told the BBC.
Odinga died Wednesday while receiving treatment at a hospital in India.
There has been speculation about his health in recent weeks, but his family and political allies have dismissed reports that he is seriously ill. Politicians and other leaders, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, expressed condolences.
Odinga, a political mobilizer and heavyweight in Kenyan politics, has run unsuccessfully for president five times. He rejected the results at every turn and often said victory was taken from him.
He was vindicated after the 2017 elections when Kenya’s highest court annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory and ordered new polls. However, he boycotted the reruns, calling for electoral reform.
The 2007 elections, which Odinga claimed were fraudulent by Mwai Kibaki, led to the biggest crisis in Kenya’s history.
Violence erupted across the country, killing 1,200 people and forcing some 600,000 to flee their homes.
To resolve the crisis, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan brokered a power-sharing agreement and a unity government was formed with Odinga as prime minister.
He has frequently reconciled with the incumbent president since the election.
After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined President William Ruto to form a so-called broad-based government, with several of his allies rising to key positions.
He defended the move as necessary for national unity after last year’s watershed of nationwide protests that culminated in the storming of parliament. Dozens of protesters were killed during confrontations with security personnel.
Ruto’s administration supported Odinga’s bid to become head of the African Union Commission in elections held earlier this year. Despite strong local support, he lost to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
Odinga has inspired passionate and loyal followers throughout his political career, especially in western Kenya, where he is from.
His supporters called him “Baba” (Father), “Agwambo” (Act of God) and “Tinga” (Tractor). This is taken from his party’s symbol during the 1997 elections.
He was widely known as a brilliant strategist and mass mobiliser, often drawing large crowds to his political rallies, and had a deep ability to connect with ordinary people.
He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for democratic freedom and human rights.
He is a former political prisoner and holds the record as Kenya’s longest-serving prisoner. For his struggle against one-party dictatorship, he was detained twice (1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the reign of Daniel arap Moi.
He was initially imprisoned for attempting a coup in 1982, which catapulted him onto the national stage.
