Raila Odinga

 ( 1945 Births ) 

In 2002, much to the chagrin of Odinga and many other hopefuls in the party, Moi endorsed Uhuru Kenyatta – son of Kenya's first president Jomo Kenyatta but a relative newcomer in politics – to be his successor. Moi publicly asked Odinga and others to support Uhuru as well.BBC News, 16 September 2002: Anti-Moi alliance emerging This was taken as an affront by many of the party loyalists who felt they were being asked to make way for a newcomer who, unlike them, had done little to build the party. Odinga and other KANU members, including Kalonzo Musyoka, George Saitoti, and Joseph Kamotho, opposed this step arguing that the then 38-year-old Uhuru was politically inexperienced and lacked the leadership qualities needed to govern. Moi stood his ground, maintaining that the country's leadership needed to pass to the younger generation as well as someone that Moi could rely on personally.

Dissent ran through the party with some members openly disagreeing with Moi, despite his reputation as an autocrat. It was then that the Rainbow Movement was founded, comprising disgruntled KANU members who exited KANU. The exodus, led by Odinga, saw most big names fleeing the party. Moi was left with his handpicked successor almost alone with a party reduced to an empty shell with poor electoral prospects. The Rainbow Movement went on to join the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which later teamed up with opposition Mwai Kibaki's National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK), a coalition of several other parties, to form the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).

On assuming office, President Kibaki did not appoint Odinga as prime minister in the new government, contrary to a pre-election Memorandum Of Understanding. (Kenya's constitution had no provision for prime minister yet); neither did he give LDP (Odinga's faction) half of the cabinet positions as per the MOU. He instead sought to entrench and increase his own NAK's side in cabinet, even appointing MPs from the opposition parties (KANU and FORD people) to the cabinet.BBC News, 30 September 2003: Uproar over Kenya leader's decree

The perceived "betrayal" started a simmering disquiet which in time led to an open rebellion and a split within the cabinet. A key point of disagreement was a proposed new constitution for the country, which was a major campaign issue that had united Kibaki's NAK and Odinga's LDP in the campaign. This constitution included provisions to trim presidential powers to rein in what was seen as an autocratic presidency, a feature of both the Moi and first president Jomo Kenyatta's regimes which had led to a lot of power abuse and an unaccountable leadership. This proposed document was called the "Bomas Draft", but Kibaki's government opposed it and withdrew from the process in March 2004.

Odinga opposed this and went on to campaign with his LDP cabinet colleagues on the referendum 'No' side, opposing the president and his lieutenants in a bruising countrywide campaign. When the document was put to a referendum on 21 November 2005, the government lost by a 57% to 43% margin. Embarrassingly for Kibaki, out of 8 provinces, only one (Central Province where his tribe the Kikuyu people are dominant) voted "yes" for the document, isolating his own tribe from the rest of Kenya and exposing his campaign as ethnic-based.

In the aftermath of the referendum, Kibaki sacked the entire cabinet on 23 November 2005. When it was reconstituted two weeks later, Odinga and several of his allies were not given a role, while many others from the LDP group and FORD-Kenya refused the posts they were offered.

On 15 February 2025, Odinga finished as the runner-up, having been defeated by Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in the election for Chairperson of the African Union, succeeding Chad's Moussa Faki. The election, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was decided by the member states of the African Union after seven rounds of voting.

In August 2007, Odinga's own Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya suffered a setback when it split into two, with Odinga becoming head of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) while the other faction, the ODM-K, was headed by Kalonzo Musyoka who parted ways with Odinga.Peter Clottey, "Kenya's Opposition Split Brightens Kibaki's Second Term Bid" , VOA News, 16 August 2007.

On 1 September 2007, the ODM elected Odinga as its presidential candidate in a National Delegates Conference held at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi. Odinga received 2,656 votes; the only other candidates who received significant numbers of votes were Musalia Mudavadi with 391 and William Ruto with 368. Earlier, Najib Balala had withdrawn his candidature and endorsed Odinga. "Kenya: It's Raila for President" , The Standard, 1 September 2007. The defeated candidates expressed their support for Odinga afterwards, and Mudavadi was named as his running mate.Maina Muiruri, , The Standard (Kenya), 2 September 2007.

Odinga's bid for the presidency however failed when after the 27 December presidential election, the Electoral Commission declared Kibaki the winner on 30 December 2007, placing him ahead of Odinga by about 232,000 votes. Jeffrey Sachs (Professor of Economics and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Special Advisor to former UN Secretary-General) faulted the United States' approach to the post-election crisis and recommended an independent recount of the vote.

Odinga and ODM leaders rallied against the decision, with James Orengo and Anyang' Nyong'o calling for mass action. Violence broke out in the country. The government responded by deploying police and paramilitary units to counter public protests.

Following two months of unrest, which led to the death of about 1,000 people and the displacement of about 250,000, a deal between Odinga and Kibaki, which provided for power-sharing and the creation of the post of prime minister, was signed in February 2008; it was brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Odinga was sworn in as prime minister, along with the power-sharing Cabinet, on 17 April 2008. The post of prime minister was last held by Jomo Kenyatta between 1963 and 1964 following independence. Odinga was thus the second person in Kenya's history to hold the position.Eric Ombok, "Kenya's Raila Odinga Sworn in as Prime Minister, Ending Crisis" , Bloomberg.com, 17 April 2008.

To contest the election, Odinga's ODM joined Kalonzo Musyoka's Wiper Party and Moses Wetangula's Ford Kenya in a coalition known as CORD (Coalition for Reforms and Democracy). Odinga was named as the coalition's presidential candidate, with Kalonzo as his running mate. Their opponents were a coalition known as The National Alliance, consisting of Kenyatta's Jubilee Party, Ruto's United Republican Party, NARC (now headed by Charity Ngilu), and Najib Balala's (Republican Congress – RC)).

A number of western countries were not in favour of the Uhuru and Ruto candidacy in view of their pending ICC cases and association with "crimes against humanity". Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan voiced his reservations, as did former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson who cautioned against the election of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto. He was notably quoted as saying that "Choices have consequences", referring to the fate of U.S.-Kenyan relations, with a Uhuru administration.

Odinga ran for president in the elections held on 4 March 2013 and garnered 5,340,546 votes (43.70%) out of the 12,221,053 valid votes cast. The winner, Uhuru Kenyatta garnered 6,173,433 votes (50.51%). As this was above the 50% plus 1 vote threshold, the IEBC declared Uhuru the president-elect in the first round without requiring a run-off between the top two candidates.

However, in a press conference shortly after the results were announced, Odinga said that the election had been marred by the manual tallying process and that he would appeal the result to contest the result in Kenya's highest court, The Supreme Court. In anticipation of the legal challenge, Odinga and his lawyers George Oraro, Mutula Kilonzo, and James Orengo, secretly instructed Raj Pal Senna, Landing Page . Raj Pal Senna (25 April 2014). Retrieved on 21 April 2015. a Management Consultant from Barcelona to carry out a forensic investigation of the technology used in the Kenyan General Election 2013, during which the IEBC made claims on TV and media that there were "technological challenges", that servers overloaded and that the database crashed. Standard Digital News – Kenya : Breaking News, Latest, Business, Jobs, Football, Travel, Tourism, Elections, National, Nairobi, County, East Africa, Media . Standardmedia.co.ke (15 April 2015). Retrieved on 21 April 2015. Standard Digital News – Kenya : What Raila failed to tell in petition against Uhuru . Ktnkenya.tv. Retrieved 21 April 2015.

During the Petition hearing, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga made a finding rejecting the second affidavit of Odinga which comprised 900 pages, on the basis that it amounted to "new evidence" which is not permitted under the Constitution. Subsequently, the Supreme Court issued a ruling dismissing the petition on 30 March 2013. The Supreme Court while declaring Uhuru the next president also declared that the IEBC should not have included the invalid/spoilt votes in the calculation of the final figures and percentages. Chief Justice Willy Mutunga also directed that the EACC (Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission) and the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) carry out a criminal investigation of the IEBC in relation to the BVR, EVID, RTS and RPS.

Odinga and his team did not attend Kenyatta's April 2013 inauguration, which marked the end of his tenure as prime minister, travelling instead to South Africa.

The full findings of the supreme court investigation were later published as the OpCo Report, and inspired a documentary by documentary by KTN journalists John Namu and Mohammed Ali titled "50+1 – The Inside Story" Standard Digital News – KTN : KTN Video Part One: The Inside Story 50+1 (What really happened during the 2013 elections) . Standardmedia.co.ke. (25 April 2014).

Shortly after Uhuru's declared victory, violence was reported in some parts of the country which are opposition strongholds. However the violence was not of the scale witnessed in the 2007 election aftermath and broke out only sporadically.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, Odinga announced his withdrawal from the presidential election, scheduled for 26 October, on 10 October. The reason for his withdrawal was his belief that the election would again not be free or fair, since no electoral process reforms had been made since the annulment of the last election, as well as various defections which occurred from his coalition.

The IEBC later stated that Odinga had not officially withdrawn from the race for presidency and his name would still appear on the ballot on 26 October among other candidates who contested the 8 August General Elections.

This resulted in violent uproar in various parts of the country some few days before and after the repeat polls especially in the NASA dominated zones. Alleged police brutality was reported as independent medic research organization (IMLU) cited 39 deaths and a high number of assault cases.

Odinga was cleared to run for the presidency for the fifth time on 5 June 2022 by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). He filed his candidacy papers as a candidate for the Azimio La Umoja–One Kenya Coalition party with the IEBC. Martha Karua was Odinga's running mate.

On 6 June, Odinga launched his 10-point manifesto at the Nyayo stadium, flanked by his running mate, and hundreds of his supporters detailing his plan for the first 100 days in office if his camp carries the day in the August election.

Odinga outlined a key component of his vision for the country, dubbed "the People's Programmes", which he promised as the foundation for his platform. Social protection, universal healthcare, job development, women's empowerment, investing in youth, education for all, food security, water for everyone, enterprise Kenya, and building on past triumphs were all part of the ten-point plan.

He vied for the presidency against United Democratic Alliance's candidate William Ruto who garnered 50.5% of votes cast. After coming second in the presidential election, he filed a legal case challenging the result, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Odinga was seen as one of the main forces behind the devolution now enshrined in the constitution as an essential part of Kenya's governance system. He is also noted for his contribution to the evolution of multi-party democracy in Kenya and his desire to see the country have a Western-style democratic system.

Due to an economic downturn and extreme drought, Odinga called for the suspension of taxes on fuels and certain foods that disproportionately impact the poor.Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, 1 June 2011: Principles Unite in Addressing High Cost of Living

Nevertheless, on social issues, Odinga took a more conservative line. On LGBT issues, Odinga stated that "the constitution is very clear on this issue and men or women found engaging in homosexuality will not be spared", adding that "If we find a man engaging in homosexuality or a woman in lesbianism, we'll arrest them and put them in jail". These comments were widely condemned from LGBT activists, who stated that his rhetoric put the lives of LGBT Kenyans in danger. In response, his office walked back Odinga's statement, claiming he only meant to clarify that same-sex marriage is illegal under the constitution.

Kenya Airways, which carried his corpse, renamed its flight KQ203 to RAO001, a special code assigned in his honour as the aircraft entered Kenyan airspace. On 16 October, thousands of mourners gathered at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to receive Odinga's body, briefly halting operations and disrupting a state ceremony attended by President Ruto. Waving flags and twigs, some supporters broke through airport barriers as the coffin was unloaded, forcing the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to issue a two-hour suspension of flights and closure of the country's airspace. Crowds also gathered outside parliament, where Odinga was to be accorded a state public viewing in keeping with a long-standing government protocol. To accommodate the massive, surging crowds that had gathered outside parliament and at the airport, officials were forced to move the ceremony to a much larger venue, redirecting the procession and public viewing of Odinga's body to the Moi International Sports Centre. At least four people were killed after Kenya Police opened fire to crowd control tens of thousands of people mourning following a gate breach at the stadium. On 17 October, Doctors Without Borders reported that two people had died and more than 160 others were injured in a stampede at the state funeral.

Odinga was buried next to his father on 19 October 2025 at his residence in Bondo.

His suspension came at a time when the electoral body, the IIEC, was in an uproar and unsettled by anonymously authored complaints which the commissioners characterise as a hate campaign but which raise troubling questions on corruption and nepotism. Later Miguna, after suspension, issued a statement that said he "was instructed to write my article on the IIEC chairman and the position he had taken with respect to the party's decision to kick out rebellious MPs and Councillors". He later denied this, according to the Nairobi Star. Nairobi Star. 13 August 2011. In a twist of events however there were rumours that he would stand down and let one of the CORD principals Mr. Wetangula vie for presidency and back the Jubilee Party to be launched in September 2016. Odinga was the leader of the opposition who let hundreds of people get killed for no cause. Miguna Slam Raila .