PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday joined scores of African leaders and other voices in various parts of the world to mourn Raila Amolo Odinga, democracy icon and former Kenyan prime minister, who died at a hospital in Kochi, southwest India, at mid-morning yesterday.

In remarks posted on official social media accounts, the president expressed deep sorrow upon receiving the news. Odinga was a towering statesman, a true Pan-Africanist, a peacemaker and a seeker of consensus whose influence transcended Kenya’s borders to shape the destiny of East Africa and the continent at large, she said.

“We have lost an astute leader, a Pan-Africanist, a lover of peace and a seeker of solutions whose wisdom and compassion went beyond Kenya to touch the whole of Africa. This is not Kenya’s loss alone, but ours as a continent,” she said in the condolence message to President William Ruto, the widow Ida Odinga, the family, friends and the people of Kenya.

The towering statesman died at the age of 80 upon a cardiac arrest during a morning walk, rushed to Devamatha Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Reports say he had travelled to India earlier this month for treatment after rumours circulated in Kenya and in the region as to the state of his health.

Kenyans were instantly thrown into mourning, as his death drew emotional tributes from across the political spectrum. President Ruto and the Odinga family, led by his elder brother Dr Oburu Oginga were at the centre of attention as national and regional leaders scrambled to express their feelings.

He served as prime minister from 2008 to 2013 in a coalition government formed after the disputed 2007 election that plunged the country into deadly post-election violence. Analysts say that his political journey, spanning more than four decades, was defined by his struggle for multiparty democracy, constitutional reform and good governance.

The son of Kenya’s first vice president Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Raila inherited his father’s mantle of opposition politics, first vying for the presidency in 1997, with four more attempts thereafter—in 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022.

Despite never ascending to the presidency, his influence remained profound, shaping Kenya’s political landscape and inspiring reform movements across the region.

In 2018, he famously reconciled with President Uhuru Kenyatta through the historic handshake, an event that helped stabilise Kenya’s tense political environment and demonstrated his lifelong commitment to peace and dialogue.

Chroniclers say his political career began with his involvement in the National Development Party (NDP) which he later merged with the traditional independence party, KANU in 2001, with Kenya’s second president Daniel Arap Moi while the battle for a new constitution swelled up.

He endured imprisonment, exile and vilification, while joining the government in reconciliation gestures from time to time, where he championed education, infrastructure and regional integration.