{"id":55964,"date":"2025-10-15T11:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T11:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/raila-odinga-the-life-and-times-of-kenya-s-veteran-politician\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T16:39:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T16:39:05","slug":"raila-odinga-the-life-and-times-of-kenya-s-veteran-politician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/raila-odinga-the-life-and-times-of-kenya-s-veteran-politician\/","title":{"rendered":"Raila Odinga: The life and times of Kenya\u2019s veteran politician"},"content":{"rendered":"

Born on January 7, 1945, in Maseno, Nyanza Province, Raila Odinga was the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya\u2019s first Vice President and a key figure in the country\u2019s independence movement. His father\u2019s legacy shaped Raila\u2019s political consciousness from an early age.<\/p>\n

Odinga pursued technical studies in East Germany in the 1960s, training as a mechanical engineer before returning to Kenya to teach and later work at the Kenya Bureau of Standards. His professional career soon gave way to political activism, as he became increasingly involved in the struggle for democracy during the one-party era. <\/p>\n

Odinga was arrested and charged with treason after being accused of being among the masterminds of the 1982 coup attempt to overthrow the government of then-President Daniel Arap Moi.<\/p>\n

He was released six years later in February 1988, but detained again in August that year to be released in June 1989.<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, Odinga was elected Member of Parliament for Lang\u2019ata and emerged as one of the most vocal proponents of multi-party democracy. His persistence positioned him at the heart of Kenya\u2019s pro-reform movement, earning both admiration and criticism for his defiance of entrenched political power.<\/p>\n

Odinga\u2019s first presidential bid came in 1997, marking the beginning of a long series of campaigns for the country\u2019s highest office. His 2007 election battle against then-President Mwai Kibaki was one of Kenya\u2019s most contested polls, sparking post-election violence that claimed more than 1,200 lives. The crisis was resolved through a power-sharing deal that made Odinga Prime Minister under a coalition government from 2008 to 2013.<\/p>\n

During his tenure, Odinga played a crucial role in the formulation and adoption of Kenya\u2019s 2010 Constitution, a landmark reform that devolved power and strengthened democratic institutions. Despite further presidential bids in 2013, 2017, and 2022, he never attained the presidency but remained an enduring symbol of opposition and reform.<\/p>\n

From 2018 to 2023, Odinga served as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa, further cementing his influence on the continental stage. <\/p>\n

In 2022, he contested the presidency against William Ruto and challenged the results in court. The outcome was upheld, sparking protests from the opposition.<\/p>\n

At the height of Gen Z economic-related protests in 2024, Odinga joined forces with President Ruto to form a broad-based government, resulting in several of his allies being appointed to key positions. In response to growing criticism, he later explained that his decision was motivated by the need to quell potential political instability.<\/p>\n

He also campaigned for the African Union Commission Chairperson position in 2024\u20132025 but lost to Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti.<\/p>\n

Raila Odinga is survived by his wife, Ida Odinga, and their children: Rosemary, Raila Jr., and Winnie. His eldest son, Fidel Odinga, passed away in 2015.<\/p>\n

Raila Odinga\u2019s passing marks the end of an era in Kenyan politics, that of a resilient statesman whose quest for democracy, social justice, and good governance reshaped his country\u2019s political landscape.<\/p>\n

\"Veteran<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veteran Kenyan politician and former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga died on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, in India at the age of 80. He suffered a cardiac arrest during his morning walk at the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre, where he had been receiving treatment for the past five days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000096203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000096203,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g3sipjzxaaas05j.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g3sipjzxaaas05j.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g3sipjzxaaas05j.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g3sipjzxaaas05j.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g3sipjzxaaas05j.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g3sipjzxaaas05j.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000096203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55964"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55964"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}