Kenya's former Prime Minister Raila Odinga died Wednesday from a heart attack at a hospital in India, the presidency confirmed.

NAIROBI, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's former Prime Minister Raila Odinga died Wednesday from a heart attack at a hospital in India, the presidency confirmed.

"It is with deep sorrow that I inform the nation of the passing on of the Right Honorable Raila Amolo Odinga, our former Prime Minister, Kenya's foremost statesman, and one of Africa's greatest sons," Kenyan President William Ruto told a televised news conference in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Odinga's name will forever be etched in the history of the country, the president said, noting that for decades, he dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice, equity, and freedom, enduring detention and persecution to advance democracy in Kenya.

"He championed reforms that gave birth to the rights and freedoms we hold dear. His voice spoke for the oppressed, his conviction inspired generations, and his vision shaped the course of our history," he said.

Odinga will be accorded a state funeral with all attendant honors, Ruto announced, declaring a seven-day national mourning period during which the flag will fly at half-mast across Kenya and at its diplomatic missions abroad.

"We lost a beacon of courage, a tower of principle, and a father of our democracy. Let us come together, as he always urged us to do, not as rivals, but as brothers and sisters bound by a shared destiny," Ruto added.

Born on Jan. 7, 1945, in western Kenya, Odinga was the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya's first vice president under founding President Jomo Kenyatta. He served as Kenya's prime minister from 2008 to 2013 and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times, leaving a lasting legacy on the nation's political landscape.

Indian media reported Odinga's death on Wednesday morning, saying that he suffered cardiac arrest during a morning walk at the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre, where he had been staying for six days.  ■