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Odinga ran for Kenya’s presidency five times over three decades, and although he never succeeded in becoming president, he is revered for a life of activism that helped steer Kenya toward becoming a vibrant multiparty democracy.
Presidents and representatives of African heads of state joined thousands of mourners at a state funeral service on Friday for Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He died at the age of 80 in the southern state of India, Kerala, of cardiac arrest while undergoing an eye treatment.
Kenyans turned out in large numbers to mourn Odinga since his death on Wednesday, reflecting the outsized influence the respected statesman had on political life in the East African country. Thousands of people filled a soccer stadium where Odinga’s casket was covered in the national flag for an Anglican Church service in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
They chanted and held up portraits of Odinga, while some carried twigs, a symbol of peace and unity in Kenyan tradition. There was heavy security at the stadium after three people died during Thursday’s public viewing as police tried to control a huge crowd at another stadium.
At least 10 people were injured at Thursday’s event after police fired live bullets and tear gas at a surging crowd trying to reach a pavilion where the casket was placed. Odinga ran for Kenya’s presidency five times over three decades, and although he never succeeded in becoming president, he is revered for a life of activism that helped steer Kenya toward becoming a vibrant multiparty democracy.
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Odinga’s body lay in state in Parliament on Friday morning ahead of the funeral, an honor only reserved for the president and former presidents. Kenyans will on Saturday have one more opportunity to view Odinga’s body in the western city of Kisumu, near his rural home in Bondo where he will be buried on Sunday. His family said he had requested to be buried quickly, ideally within 72 hours, which is unusual for popular leaders in this East African country.
