Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga, Kenya (1911-1994)
Born in Sakwa, East African Protectorate (now in Kenya). African nationalist politician who was a leader in the opposition against the single party rule of Jomo Kenyatta. From the late 1940s Odinga was an associate of Kenyatta's in the campaign for Kenya's independence from Britain. In 1960 he became vice president of the newly formed Kenya African National Union (KANU) during which period he pressed for independence. His socialist views conflicted with Kenyatta's more centrist ideology, however, and in 1966 he broke away from KANU to form a left-wing opposition party, the Kenya People's Union (KPU).
The KPU was outlawed by Kenyatta in 1969, and some of its members, including Odinga, were placed under government detention. After his release in 1971, Odinga rejoined KANU, but he never regained Kenyatta's confidence, and he was not permitted to run for parliament. Odinga continued to criticise government corruption and to press for improved human rights and a multiparty political system. He was expelled from KANU in 1982 and imprisoned for several months. In 1991 he helped found the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD). Pressure at home and from the international community finally led to the legalisation of opposition parties.