On October 16th, 2025, the air in Nairobi was thick—not just with the grief of a nation, but with the stinging scent of tear gas. At the Kasarani Stadium, tens of thousands of Kenyans gathered to bid farewell to a man who had been the pulse of the country’s politics for half a century. The chaos that ensued—the stampedes, the gunshots in the air, the chants of “Baba, Baba, Baba”—was a fitting, if tragic, final chapter for Raila Amolo Odinga.
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He ran for president five times. He lost five times. Yet, his death brought Kenya to a standstill. To understand why a man who never wore the presidential sash was treated like a founding father, one must look past the election results and into the soul of a revolutionary who spent his life breaking and remaking a nation.
1. Born into the Struggle: The Odinga Dynasty
Raila Odinga did not choose politics; he was born into its deepest trenches. Born on January 7, 1945, in Western Kenya, he was the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, a titan of the independence movement.
When Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963, Jaramogi became the first Vice President under President Jomo Kenyatta. However, the honeymoon was short-lived. Kenyatta (an ethnic Kikuyu) favored capitalism and Western alliances, while Jaramogi (an ethnic Luo) pushed for socialism and land redistribution.
This ideological split birthed a deep ethnic rivalry between the Kikuyu and the Luo that would dictate Kenyan politics for the next 60 years. By 1966, Jaramogi was ousted, and the Odingas became enemies of the state. Young Raila watched his father’s transition from hero to pariah, a transformation that forged his own steel.
2. The Making of a Revolutionary: Prison and Exile
After studying mechanical engineering in East Germany, Raila returned to Kenya in 1970. He could have lived a quiet life as a lecturer or a bureaucrat, but the regime of Daniel Arap Moi, who took over after Kenyatta’s death, made that impossible. Moi turned Kenya into a de jure one-party state, crushing dissent with brutal efficiency.
The 1982 Coup and the “Hell” of Nyayo House
On August 1, 1982, members of the Kenya Air Force attempted a coup. While Raila’s exact level of involvement remains a subject of historical debate, Moi used the event to purge his enemies. Raila was arrested and charged with treason—a crime punishable by death.
He spent the next several years in detention without trial. He was beaten by drunken officers and held in solitary confinement at Shimo la Tewa and Manyani prisons. His wife, Ida Odinga, became a hero in her own right, raising their children—Fidel, Winnie, Rosemary, and Raila Jr.—while being harassed and even detained herself.
The Great Escape
By 1991, the regime’s walls were closing in. To avoid assassination, Raila orchestrated a cinematic escape. Dressed as a Catholic priest, he was smuggled across Lake Victoria by fishermen at night, navigated by the stars, and eventually made his way to Norway. From exile, he became the international voice of the Saba Saba movement, demanding the return of multi-party democracy.
3. The Eternal Candidate: Five Races, Five Heartbreaks
Raila returned to Kenya in 1992 and began his long, tumultuous quest for the presidency.
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| Year | Opponent | Outcome | Significance |
| 1997 | Daniel arap Moi | 3rd Place | His first attempt proved he had a massive grassroots base. |
| 2007 | Mwai Kibaki | Lost (Disputed) | Led to the post-election violence; 1,300+ dead. |
| 2013 | Uhuru Kenyatta | Lost (Upheld) | The first test of the new 2010 Constitution. |
| 2017 | Uhuru Kenyatta | Nullified/Lost | The Supreme Court nullified the first result—a first for Africa. |
| 2022 | William Ruto | Lost (Upheld) | His final attempt at age 77 with the “system” on his side. |
The 2007 election was the darkest moment. When Kibaki was hurriedly sworn in under the cover of darkness, Kenya exploded. The resulting violence saw over 600,000 people displaced. To save the country from civil war, Raila accepted a power-sharing deal, becoming the Prime Minister in 2008.
4. The Architect of Modern Kenya: The 2010 Constitution
If Raila had never held the presidency, his “win” was the 2010 Constitution. For decades, Kenya’s presidency was an “imperial” office—the president controlled every shilling and every appointment.
Raila championed Devolution, which split power and resources into 47 counties. The impact was concrete: in places like Marsabit, where the central government had drilled only 20 wells in 50 years, the new local government drilled 20 in a single year. This constitution is widely considered one of the most progressive in the world, ensuring that no single man could ever truly “own” Kenya again.
5. The “Handshake” King: Savior or Sellout?
Raila was known as Agwambo (The Mysterious One). He had a baffling habit of shaking hands with the men who had oppressed or defeated him.
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2002: He backed Mwai Kibaki to end the 40-year KANU rule.
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2018: After swearing himself in as the “People’s President,” he shook hands with Uhuru Kenyatta (the son of his father’s rival).
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2025: He joined a “broad-based” government with William Ruto following the Gen-Z-led protests.
To his supporters, these were acts of statesmanship to prevent bloodshed. To the younger generation (Gen-Z), these handshakes felt like betrayals—deals made between elites to maintain the status quo while the youth faced unemployment and police brutality.
6. The Final Act: India and the Stadium Chaos
In early October 2025, the “Enigma” finally began to fade. Following a minor stroke, Raila traveled to India for specialized treatment. On October 15, 2025, while walking the grounds of the Ariyam Ayurvedic Hospital in Kochi with his daughter Winnie, he collapsed. He died of cardiac arrest at the age of 80.
His body’s return to Kenya sparked a week of national mourning. Even in death, Raila was a polarizing force of nature. The chaos at Casarani Stadium, where two people lost their lives in the crush to see his casket, proved that the “Odinga Fever” had not cooled.
Conclusion: A Legacy Beyond the Ballot
Raila Odinga’s life was a series of tactical losses that resulted in a strategic victory for Kenyan democracy. He never moved into the State House, but he spent 50 years ensuring that whoever did move in would have to answer to the law, the courts, and the people.
He was the man who taught Kenyans how to protest, how to demand a new constitution, and how to survive the unthinkable. He was a prisoner, a priest, a Prime Minister, and a “Baba.” He left Kenya a different country than he found it—more fractured, perhaps, but infinitely more free.