Raila Odinga, independent Kenya’s second Prime Minister and the son of Kenya’s founding Vice-President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, has died while undergoing treatment in India.
Odinga, who died at the age of 80, will be remembered as an astute politician and statesman, having served as an MP and Cabinet Minister. President William Ruto is expected to address the nation following the death of Odinga, who was also the Party Leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Dr Ruto is currently chairing an extraordinary National Security Council meeting at State House, Nairobi. The President has also summoned a special Cabinet meeting to deliberate on the matter. The meeting is scheduled for 2:30 PM at State House, Nairobi.
Raila was a close ally of President Ruto. The two signed an MoU on March 7. Raila Odinga first vied for the presidency in 1997 as an NDP candidate.
He garnered 665,725 votes — representing 10.9 percent of the total vote — finishing third after then-President Daniel arap Moi (40 percent) and DP’s Mwai Kibaki (31 percent).
After his first unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1997, Odinga joined President Moi’s government and was appointed Energy Minister in 2001. His party, the NDP, merged with the ruling party, KANU, and Raila became secretary-general.
In 2007, he vied for the presidency for a second time. As the ODM candidate, he faced off against Mwai Kibaki of PNU, whom he had endorsed in the 2002 election. Kibaki was declared the winner, but the outcome was disputed, resulting in violent protests.
In February 2008, following three months of countrywide protests, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan brokered a peace and power-sharing deal between then-President Kibaki and Odinga. Kibaki appointed Raila as Prime Minister in the Grand Coalition Government of 2008.
In 2013, Odinga ran for the presidency under the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) ticket. He faced off against Jubilee’s Uhuru Kenyatta. Raila received 5.34 million votes, finishing second to Uhuru, who garnered 6.17 million votes. He challenged the results in court.
In 2017, Odinga vied for the presidency for the fourth time as a National Super Alliance (NASA) candidate. He faced off against President Kenyatta, who was seeking re-election for a second term. Uhuru won the election with 8.2 million votes against Raila’s 6.8 million.
Odinga disputed the results of the first presidential election of 2017. The Supreme Court annulled the results and ordered a fresh election, which was scheduled for October. However, Raila boycotted the rerun, citing the continued presence of Wafula Chebukati as the IEBC chair. Uhuru was re-elected.
In 2022, Odinga vied for the presidency once more as the Azimio La Umoja Coalition Party candidate. He faced off against his former ally-turned-rival, Dr. William Ruto, of the Kenya Kwanza Coalition. Ruto won, garnering 7.1 million votes against Raila’s 6.9 million.
Following the death of Odinga, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula adjourned Wednesday morning’s session and directed Members of Parliament to reconvene in the afternoon for official communication on his passing.
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