President Ruto Declares Seven Days of National Mourning for Raila Odinga, Flags to Fly at Half-Mast as State Funeral Planned

Kenya has entered a week of national mourning following the death of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, one of the most consequential figures in the nation’s political history.

President William Ruto on Wednesday evening announced seven days of national mourning and ordered that the Kenyan flag be flown at half-mast across the country and in all Kenyan missions abroad. He said Odinga would be accorded a state funeral with full honors in recognition of his lifelong service to the nation.

“As a mark of respect, I have postponed all my public engagements for the coming days, and I ask all other public servants and leaders to do the same so that we can join the nation in this period of mourning,” Ruto said in a televised address from State House, Nairobi.

Ruto described Odinga as “an indomitable warrior in our struggle for freedom and prosperity and a statesman of boundless selflessness.”

He added: “In his passing, we have lost a patriot of uncommon courage, a Pan-Africanist and a unifier who sought peace and unity above power and personal gain.”

The President announced that a National Funeral Committee co-chaired by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Siaya Senator Dr. Oburu Odinga — Raila’s elder brother — would oversee all funeral arrangements in consultation with the family.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is leading a high-level delegation to India to coordinate the repatriation of Odinga’s remains. Ruto disclosed that the Government of India had offered to facilitate the process, underscoring the close cooperation between the two countries.

Odinga, 80, died on Wednesday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre in Koothattukulam, Kerala.

According to hospital sources, he collapsed during a morning walk and was rushed to Devamatha Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 9 a.m.

Family sources confirmed that he had been under medical care for bacterial infections and had been accompanied to India by his daughter, Winnie Odinga, and personal doctor.

A towering figure in Kenya’s political landscape for more than four decades, Raila Odinga served as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013 under the Grand Coalition Government formed after the disputed 2007 elections.

Kenyans mourning the death of Raila Odinga.

He led the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and ran for the presidency five times — in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022 — without success, yet remained an enduring symbol of opposition politics and reform.

His political career was forged in struggle. Detained without trial for nearly nine years between 1982 and 1991 under President Daniel arap Moi’s regime, Odinga became a central figure in Kenya’s pro-democracy movement, helping usher in multiparty politics in the early 1990s.

He was instrumental in major national reforms, including the 2010 Constitution that ushered in devolution and expanded civil liberties.

His 2018 handshake with then-President Uhuru Kenyatta — following a divisive election — redefined the political landscape and symbolized reconciliation after years of bitter rivalry.

Beyond Kenya, Odinga held continental stature as the African Union’s High Representative for Infrastructure Development, advocating for trans-African rail, energy and trade projects. He also frequently mediated conflicts in the Horn of Africa, earning respect as a seasoned statesman.

Born in 1945, Raila Odinga was the son of Kenya’s first Vice President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and carried forward his family’s political legacy. Educated in mechanical engineering in East Germany, he brought both socialist ideals and Pan-African vision into Kenya’s public life.

Tributes poured in from across the continent and beyond, with hashtags #RIPRaila, #BabaForever, and #RailaOdinga trending globally.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, in his own statement, described Raila as “a brother and a patriot whose handshake showed the true measure of a man.”

Odinga leaves behind his wife, Ida, their children Fidel (deceased), Rosemary, Raila Jr., and Winnie.

A detailed funeral program is expected to be released in the coming days, with national prayers and memorial events planned across all counties.

As Kenya lowers its flags and comes to terms with the loss, the man many simply called Baba leaves a legacy deeply woven into the nation’s story — of sacrifice, resilience, and the enduring pursuit of justice.

Oburu Odinga condoles Ida Odinga at her Karen home.