Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC.

Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India. He collapsed during a morning walk and was taken to Devamatha Hospital, which said he had suffered a cardiac arrest. It said he did not respond to resuscitation measures and was “declared dead at 09:52” local time (04:22 GMT).

In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his health, even though family members and political allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill.

President William Ruto paid tribute to Odinga as a “beacon of courage” and “father of our democracy”.

“Raila amolo odinga is truly a once-in-a-generation leader. A man whose ideals transcended politics, and whose legacy will shape the destiny of Kenya for generations to come,” Ruto said in a live address to the nation.

A seven-day period of mourning has also been declared. Odinga will be also be accorded a state funeral with full honours, Ruto said.

Other Kenyan politicians and world leaders have been sending their condolences, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described Odinga as a “towering statesman and a cherished friend of India”.

South AfricaS President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was a “leader who placed the interests of his country and continent first” while Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema described Odinga as “a towering advocate for democracy”, whose legacy would endure.

The Kenyan president had earlier visited Odinga’s family home in Nairobi and expressed his condolences to his widow Ida Odinga and other family members.

A delegation led by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Odinga’s widow is expected to travel to India to oversee the arrangements to repatriate his body.

Odinga’s supporters have been pouring onto the streets to mourn, especially in his political strongholds of western Kenya and parts of Nairobi.

A political mobiliser and towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times. He rejected the results on each occasion, often saying that victory had been stolen from him.

Raila Odinga: A Life of Kenyan Politics

Raila Amolo Odinga, a towering figure in Kenyan politics, has died at the age of 79. his passing marks the end of an era and leaves a meaningful void in the country’s political landscape.

Born in 1945, Odinga’s political journey began in the shadow of his father, Oginga Odinga, who was a key figure in Kenya’s independence movement and served as the country’s first vice-president.

Odinga’s career has spanned decades, marked by periods of opposition, imprisonment, and attempts to secure the presidency. He ran for president five times – in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022 – but never succeeded in winning the top seat. Despite these electoral defeats, his influence on Kenyan politics remained immense.

He was widely regarded as a master strategist and mass mobiliser, often drawing huge crowds to his political rallies, and he had a deep ability to connect with ordinary people.

He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for democratic freedoms and human rights.

He was a former political prisoner, and holds the record for being Kenya’s longest-serving detainee. His struggle against one-party dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the rule of Daniel arap Moi.

He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.

For most of his political life, Odinga has been seen as symbol of resistance and political reform and his death leaves a vacuum about who can fill his shoes and carry on his legacy.