Raila Amollo Odinga, who has died at the age of 80, was something of a paradox in post-independence Kenyan politics. A leader who repeatedly ran for president, he never won – in part due to the 2007 election being manipulated in favour of Mwai Kibaki. Despite this, Odinga will be remembered as a figure who…
By Patrick Gathara Kenyans are wont to refer to Raila Odinga, the long-reigning 80-year-old opposition leader who died on Wednesday, as the “Enigma of Kenyan politics,” a reference to the title of a 2006 biography of him penned by the Nigerian author, Babafemi Badejo. His unequalled ability to survive, even thrive, at the top of…
Raila Odinga, Kenya’s former Prime Minister and a towering figure in African politics, passed away this morning at the age of 80 in Koothattukulam, Kerala, India. Authorities confirmed that Odinga suffered a cardiac arrest during his daily morning walk and was pronounced dead at 9:52 AM at Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre. Odinga,…
Former Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga has lost the bid to become the next chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). In the vote conducted on Saturday afternoon, Raila was narrowly eliminated from his bid to replace Moussa Faki in the sixth round. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti was voted the seventh AUC chairperson since…
