Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has died in India at the age of 80, Indian police confirmed on Wednesday.
According to Krishnan M., Additional Superintendent of Police in Kerala State, Odinga coll@psed during a morning walk with his sister, daughter, and personal doctor. He was accompanied by both Indian and Kenyan security officers when the incident occurred. Despite being rushed to a nearby private hospital, doctors pronounced him d+ad on arrival.
A spokesperson for the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre in Kerala, where Odinga had been receiving treatment, also confirmed the d+ath. “Around 7:45 a.m., Mr. Raila was on his morning walk when he suddenly experienced breathing difficulties and collapsed,” the spokesman told AFP. “CPR was immediately administered, and after brief signs of recovery, he was rushed to a modern hospital. Unfortunately, despite several resuscitation efforts, he could not be saved.”
A member of Odinga’s political team, who requested anonymity pending an official announcement, also confirmed the tragic news.
Born on January 7, 1945, Odinga was one of Kenya’s most influential political figures. A member of the Luo ethnic group, he spent years in jail and exile under the autocratic rule of President Daniel arap Moi, championing democracy and political reform.
He entered parliament in 1992 and ran unsuccessfully for president five times in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022 each time claiming he was denied victory through electoral fraud.
Odinga’s d+ath marks the end of an era in Kenyan politics, closing the chapter on a lifelong struggle for democracy, reform, and justice.
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