Grief and Turmoil as Kenya Mourns Raila Odinga
Vast crowds on Saturday thronged the streets of Kisumu, western Kenya, for the final public farewell to veteran politician Raila Odinga, whose death earlier in the week has plunged the nation into mourning and unrest.
Odinga, 80, died on Wednesday in India after a suspected heart attack, sparking an outpouring of grief across Kenya, particularly in the western region, where he was regarded as a father figure and hero among his Luo ethnic group.
Tens of thousands of mourners filled Kisumu’s main streets and stadium, chanting “Baba!” and “We are orphans!” as a helicopter carrying Odinga’s coffin landed at the venue. Many pushed through barriers or scaled structures for a glimpse of the casket, according to AFP journalists at the scene.
“Without Baba, we are dead. We don’t have anywhere to go,” said 20-year-old Don Pelido, one of many supporters crushed against the perimeter fence.
Emergency workers said they treated more than 100 people for fainting and dehydration, though authorities appeared to have avoided the chaos that marred earlier ceremonies.
Officials had cancelled a planned procession in Kisumu to prevent stampedes.
The calmer scenes contrasted sharply with violent incidents that claimed at least five lives earlier in the week. On Thursday, police opened fire to control a surging crowd at a Nairobi stadium where Odinga lay in state, killing at least three people.
A day later, two more died and dozens were injured in a stampede during the state funeral led by President William Ruto.
“It was much better than Nairobi. We were ready for it,” said Philip Nyaswa, a member of the Kisumu emergency response team.
Odinga, a dominant figure in Kenyan politics for decades, served as prime minister between 2008 and 2013 but failed in five bids for the presidency.
Despite never reaching the nation’s highest office, he was widely credited with helping restore multiparty democracy in the 1990s and playing a key role in drafting Kenya’s 2010 constitution.
His body, repatriated from India on Thursday, was brought to Kisumu for public viewing before being transferred to his ancestral home in Bondo, Siaya County, for a private burial on Sunday.
Odinga’s death has created a leadership void within the opposition, amid criticism that he failed to groom a successor.
“We have not accepted that he is really gone. It is still a bad dream,” said Maureen Owesi, a 39-year-old shop owner in Kisumu.
Once celebrated for his reformist zeal, Odinga’s later years were marked by pragmatic alliances with rivals, including a surprise truce with President Ruto last year, moves that alienated many younger supporters.
His passing leaves questions over the future of his political movement and the stability of Kenya’s opposition ahead of what analysts fear could be a volatile 2027 election cycle.
