Fighting relentlessly for institutional reform, Odinga’s activism helped deliver two of Kenya’s most consequential political transformations: the legalization of multiparty politics and the promulgation of the 2010 constitution. Odinga’s balancing act as both a firebrand of resistance and an architect of reconciliation became the defining paradox of his legacy, leaving supporters and critics alike to debate whether he was a revolutionary who compromised or a pragmatist who never lost his radical edge.

The death of Raila Odinga, Kenya’s former prime minister and most enduring opposition figure, closes a defining chapter in the nation’s political life. For more than 40 years, Odinga embodied Kenya’s democratic struggles, from detention under an autocratic regime to decades of electoral contests that reshaped the country’s political landscape.

The death of Raila Odinga, Kenya’s former prime minister and most enduring opposition figure, closes a defining chapter in the nation’s political life. For more than 40 years, Odinga embodied Kenya’s democratic struggles, from detention under an autocratic regime to decades of electoral contests that reshaped the country’s political landscape.

Fighting relentlessly for institutional reform, Odinga’s activism helped deliver two of Kenya’s most consequential political transformations: the legalization of multiparty politics and the promulgation of the 2010 constitution. Odinga’s balancing act as both a firebrand of resistance and an architect of reconciliation became the defining paradox of his legacy, leaving supporters and critics alike to debate whether he was a revolutionary who compromised or a pragmatist who never lost his radical edge.

Born into a prominent political family, Odinga inherited both privilege and burden. His father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, was Kenya’s first vice president and an early critic of post-independence authoritarianism. Raila Odinga would take up that mantle, enduring six years in detention without trial after being accused of involvement in the failed 1982 coup against the government of President Daniel arap Moi.

His fight for democracy did not end with