Tributes poured in from across the world after Morgan Tsvangirai, former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, succumbed to colon cancer.
Unknown to many, Tsvangirai had links to Kenya and was a close ally of Opposition leader Raila Odinga.
In July last year, Tsvangirai met Odinga in Kenya and later told Zimbabwean media that they had agreed to form a global coalition to deal with electoral fraud.
“We travelled to Kenya to build a global coalition against manipulation of elections, not just in Zimbabwe, but the whole African continent," he stated.
After beating long-serving President Robert Mugabe in the first round of Presidential elections in 2008, Tsvangirai refused to take part in the run-off over violence meted on his supporters by the Government.
[caption caption="Morgan Tsvangirai speaks at an ODM conference in 2013"]
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To prevent the country from sliding into anarchy, Tsvangirai agreed to form a unity government with Robert Mugabe after international mediators intervened.
Tsvangirai lost the next election in 2013 but maintained that it had been rigged by the ruling party, ZANU-PF.
After their trip to Kenya last year, Nelson Chamisa, one of Tsvangirai's deputies, divulged more details of their visit.
“Odinga was among some of the various leaders we met when we were in Kenya.
“The tragedy we have on the continent is of disputed elections and to that end, efforts are afoot to mobilise international and global solidarity for free and fair elections, not only in the SADC region, but also East Africa,” Chamisa stated.
Following Tsvangirai's death, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) sent a tribute hailing him as a fighter for democracy and social justice in Africa.
"A man who lived his political life fighting for the rights of the people of Zimbabwe & Africa. Rt. Hon. Morgan Tsvangirai, your struggle will not go in vain. Your Legacy shall live on," the statement read in part.
[caption caption="Morgan Tsvangirai and one of his deputies, Nelson Chamisa, with Raila and Ida Odinga on 30 June, 2017"]
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A statement from Raila on Thursday read in part: "Morgan dared to dream of democracy, freedom and justice for his country and his people despite the firm hands of dictatorship that held sway."
