KENYA: It includes to had spent 6 years in jail, know the full history of recently passed away Raila Odinga
Early Life & Family
Full name: Raila Amolo Odinga.
Date of birth: 7 January 1945.
Place of birth: Maseno, in what was then Nyanza Province, Kenya.
Parents: His father was Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the first Vice President of independent Kenya; mother Mary Juma Odinga. He grew up in a Luo family, in a household with many siblings (his father had multiple children from different wives).
Education
Primary education: Kisumu Union Primary, then Maranda Primary School, Bondo.
Secondary education: Maranda High School.
Higher education: In 1962, Raila was sent to East Germany
He spent two years at the Herder Institute, part of the University of Leipzig, for German language and preparatory studies.
Then he studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Magdeburg. He graduated in 1970 with a master’s level degree in mechanical engineering..
Early career and political entry
After returning to Kenya in the early 1970s, he was a lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
Then he joined the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), rising to deputy director by 1978.
He was influenced by his father’s political involvement. Jaramogi Odinga had broken with the ruling party over differences with Jomo Kenyatta. That environment exposed Raila to politics early.
Political Life
Opposition to one-party rule: Under President Daniel Arap Moi, Kenya was effectively a one-party state. Raila opposed that.
The 1982 detention: After a coup attempt (air force officers) in 1982, Odinga was accused of being linked to it. He was detained without trial for several years, it is said he spent to 6 years in jail.
He was arrested multiple times for campaigning for multiparty democracy. At one point, he went into exile in Norway for a time in 1991.
Parliament & party politics:
Upon return, in 1992 he was elected to the National Assembly as part of the opposition. Over subsequent years he changed affiliations: FORD-Kenya, then National Development Party (NDP), later merging or allying with other parties and creating his own coalitions.
Runs for presidency: He ran for president in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022. In many of those elections he claimed there was fraud or irregularities.
Prime Minister: After the disputed 2007 election, there was post-election violence. A power-sharing agreement was brokered, and Odinga became Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013.
Constitutional reform: He was influential in promoting reforms, including the 2010 constitution of Kenya.
Family
Spouse: Married to Ida Odinga since 1973.
Children: They had four children:
Fidel born 1973, died 2015,
Rosemary who born in1977,
Raila Junior born 1979, and
Winnie born 1990.
He was also known by affectionate nicknames among supporters: “Baba” meaning “Father” among others.
Death
Raila Odinga died on October 15, 2025 at age 80.
Place: He was in India, in Kerala, receiving medical treatment.
Cause: He suffered a cardiac (heart related),arrest while on a morning walk near an Ayurvedic hospital (Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital & Research Centre) and was pronounced dead at Devamatha Hospital after being moved there.
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