NAIROBI: Kenya held a state funeral for revered opposition leader Raila Odinga on Friday, a day after security forces opened fire on huge mourning crowds and killed at least three people.
Odinga died from a suspected heart attack at a health clinic in southern India on Wednesday, triggering a huge outpouring of grief across much of his home country.
Affectionately known as “Baba”, Odinga was arguably the most important political figure of his generation in Kenya.
Though he served as prime minister from 2008 to 2013, he never succeeded in winning the presidency despite five attempts.
But he played a central role in returning the country to multi-party democracy in the 1990s and is credited as the main force behind a widely praised constitution passed in 2010.
There were chaotic scenes on Thursday as his body was repatriated from India and taken to a stadium on the outskirts of Nairobi to lie in state.
As huge crowds surged towards a VIP gate at one point, security forces opened fire, killing at least three people according to prominent rights group VOCAL Africa.
It said on X that it had confirmed three bodies from Kasarani stadium had been received that evening at City Mortuary.
President William Ruto attended the state funeral on Friday at another Nairobi stadium, Nyayo, alongside regional dignitaries including Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Odinga’s body will then travel to western Kenya, his family’s home region, where more huge crowds are expected on Saturday before a private burial service on Sunday.
His death leaves a leadership vacuum in the opposition with no obvious successor as Kenya heads into a potentially volatile election in 2027. – AFP
