NAIROBI: Raila Odinga, a former prime minister of Kenya and perennial presidential candidate whose populist campaigns rattled authorities and gave him an outsized influence on political life in his East African country, died Wednesday of a heart attack while travelling in India. He was 80.

His death was confirmed by the Devamatha Hospital in India's Kerala State, where he was taken after he collapsed during a morning walk. A statement from the hospital said Odinga suffered a cardiac arrest and didn't respond to resuscitation efforts.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on the social platform X that he was saddened by the death of Odinga, describing him as “a towering statesman.”

Other tributes to Odinga paid tribute to his commitment to democracy in Kenya. There were somber scenes

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