Tens of thousands of mourners flocked into Kisumu yesterday to pay their last respects to former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, whose death at the age of 80 has left Kenya in deep mourning.
Crowds passed his open casket at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium, weeping and wailing “we are orphans” as they farewelled the man widely regarded as the “people’s leader.”
I have come to weep for an icon of Africa,” Dixon Ochieng, a mourner who was interviewed by the BBC, said.
The public viewing concluded in the afternoon, after which Odinga’s body was flown to his village residence for burial. His widow, Ida Odinga, appealed to supporters to stay calm and eschew the calamitous violence that has become synonymous with previous mourning sessions, claiming at least five lives and scores of injuries.
Since early yesterday morning, throngs of young and old supporters flocked into Kisumu, Odinga’s political stronghold on the shores of Lake Victoria. His passing has united Kenyans in grief beyond their political divide.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama, whose own Kenyan roots trace to the same region, posted on X (formerly Twitter), referring to Odinga as “a true champion of democracy.”.
A son of freedom, he devoted decades of struggle and sacrifice in the name of the greater good of self-determination and freedom in Kenya,” Obama said. “Time and again, I saw him put the interests of his country above his own ambitions.”.
Odinga, who led Kenya’s opposition for decades and run for the presidency five times in vain, was widely seen as the face of reform and resilience. In the face of electoral irregularities and political losses, he always preached peace and unity of the nation.
“Throughout his life, Raila Odinga showed a model not just to Kenyans, but across Africa and around the world,” Obama stated.
