Former Kenyan prime minister and revered long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga was buried in the west of the country after a service attended by thousands on Sunday.
“Now finally Baba is home,” his son, Raila Odinga junior, said beside his father’s casket, draped in the Kenyan flag.
The burial concluded days of memorials that at times led to chaos, with at least five mourners dying at other events and dozens injured at a public viewing on Saturday.
Odinga died on Wednesday aged 80 in an Indian hospital.
He became prime minister after the bloody and disputed 2007 election, and was the main opposition leader for many years, losing five presidential campaigns, most recently three years ago.
He retains a devotional following in the west of the country. Former US President Barack Obama, whose Kenyan family hails from the same region, called Odinga a “true champion of democracy”.
Politicians, relatives and throngs of his supporters waved Kenyan flags and held his picture aloft as they gathered at Sunday’s memorial service, which was held at a university in Bondo.
“Even in the grave, he still remains our hero,” one mourner told the AFP news agency.
Military personnel carried Odinga’s coffin to the front, where a choir sang and speakers, including Kenyan President William Ruto, remembered him.
“His courage, his vision, and his unyielding faith in our collective destiny will forever illuminate the path of our nation,” Ruto said in a post on Facebook about the event.
“His return to Bondo was not merely a homecoming; it was the embrace of a grateful Republic bidding farewell to one of its greatest sons, a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of justice, democracy, and the enduring unity of our beloved Kenya.”
Odinga was buried nearby at his late father’s homestead, where there is a family mausoleum.
Multiple memorial events had already taken place, including a state funeral in Nairobi on Friday and a public viewing in a stadium in his home city of Kisumu on Saturday.
At the viewing, tens of thousands filed past his open coffin, many crying out the phrase “we are orphans”.
Huge crowds of mourners in Kenya fled screaming after police fired gunshots and tear gas in a stadium where they had gathered to see the body of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Four people were reportedly killed in the chaos as security officers sought to disperse the surging crowds.
It is not yet clear whether the police used live ammunition or rubber bullets in the arena, which is located in the capital Nairobi.
Odinga’s body was flown back from India, where he died on Wednesday morning, with thousands of people waiting at the airport. The public viewing finally began in the evening, after the chaos in the stadium had subsided.
The throngs of people at the country’s main airport forced the authorities to briefly suspend flights.
The authorities said mourners had gained access to restricted areas, prompting a “precautionary closure” that lasted about two hours.
From the airport, thousands of people moved in a procession to escort the vehicle carrying the body to the stadium, about 10km (six miles) from the city centre.
Because of the unexpectedly large crowds, the public viewing ceremony for Odinga’s body was moved to Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre in the Kasarani neighbourhood, rather than inside the parliament building where it was initially scheduled to take place.
The convoy arrived to a packed stadium, with more people waiting outside.
Minutes afterwards, a large crowd breached a gate in the arena, prompting the police to fire tear gas. Masses of mourners rushed towards the exits in response.
A BBC reporter at the scene also saw men in civilian clothing beating protesters with batons.
At least three people were visibly injured and one had a serious head wound, the AFP news agency reported.
After the chaos settled, dignitaries and government officials – including Kenyan President William Ruto – were able to observe the coffin, befopre the public viewing began.
A stream of supporters had earlier gathered at Lee Funeral Home, where the body was first expected, and around parliament.
“I came here at six in the morning. We have been at the airport to welcome Baba [Odinga’s nickname],” one mourner had told the BBC near the airport.
“We are sad, we have been left as orphans. He is our father.”
Motorcycle rider William Otieno Adoyo said he was a “Baba die-hard”.
“We want to see Baba, how do we know it’s him in the casket? Let them show us and we’ll be contented,” he told the BBC.
Mourners have been carrying twigs and palm branches, a symbol of mourning and grief among the Luo ethnic group that Odinga belonged to.
The state funeral will be held at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Friday and on Saturday his body will be transported to Kisumu, a city in western Kenya on the shores of Lake Victoria – his political stronghold.
Members of the public will get a chance to view the body before he is buried on Sunday at his farm in Bondo, about 60km west of Kisumu.
According to the family, it was Odinga’s wish to be laid to rest within the shortest time possible, ideally within 72 hours.
The 80-year-old former prime minister collapsed during a morning walk in India on Wednesday morning and he was taken to Devamatha Hospital, about 50km (30 miles) east of the port city of Kochi.
A seven-day period of mourning has been declared. Odinga will also be accorded a state funeral with full military honours, President Ruto said.
He was towering figure in Kenyan politics and for many years was the country’s main opposition leader, losing five presidential campaigns, most recently three years ago.
Odinga repeatedly said he was cheated of victory, citing the manipulation of votes.
Additional reporting by Akisa Wandera and Basillioh Rukanga in Nairobi
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Raila Odinga was one of Kenya’s most influential and enduring political figures despite five unsuccessful presidential bids.
For years, the firebrand politician emerged as a staunch campaigner and defender of multi-party democracy – adored by near-fanatical supporters and vilified by a threatened political elite.
Fondly known as “Baba”, meaning father, the veteran opposition leader died on Wednesday morning at the age of 80 in India, where he had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.
His death not only marks the end of an era for a towering pan-Africanist, but also leaves a significant void in Kenya’s opposition as the country heads towards the 2027 elections.
Although Odinga came from a famous Kenyan family, the political crown eluded him throughout his decades-long career – just as it eluded his father, who served as vice-president after independence from the UK.
In 2022, Odinga made his fifth attempt at the presidency, having come closest to the top job in 2008 when he was appointed prime minister in a coalition government.
In February, he lost the race to lead the African Union Commission to Djibouti’s foreign affairs minister.
Despite his political misfortunes, Odinga remained a political force so influential that successive Kenyan presidents struggled to govern easily without his support.
Last year, President William Ruto reached out to Odinga for a political deal that saw opposition leaders appointed in the cabinet.
Four members of Odinga’s ODM party joined what is now known as a “broad-based” government.
The move was seen by many as Ruto’s attempt to solidify his hold on power amid increasing discontent with his administration over its perceived failure to improve the lives of poor people, while raising taxes heavily.
Odinga faced heavy criticism, especially from the young people behind last year’s anti-government protests, who accused him of betrayal. He insisted that he only “donated” experts to help the president “save” the country.
An avid football fan and supporter of English premier league club Arsenal, Odinga came from the Luo ethnic group – the fourth largest in Kenya.
He had a passionate following, and his adoring fans has nicknames for him like “Agwambo” (Act of God) and “Tinga” (Tractor) – drawn from his party symbol in the 1997 election.
His signature slow-motion dance to reggae tunes at rallies – popularly known as “The Raila Dance” – became widely imitated by many in social gatherings.
In the 2022 presidential election, Odinga chose former Justice Minister Martha Karua as his running mate. This was widely welcomed, as it was the first time a presidential front-runner had chosen a female deputy.
Odinga was seen as the political heir to his father, Jaramogi Odinga, who was Kenya’s first vice-president after independence, but walked out of the government in 1966 after falling out with then-leader Jomo Kenyatta, whose son, Uhuru, went on to become president after the advent of multi-party democracy in the East African nation.
Jaramogi Odinga favoured closer ties with the Soviet Union and China, while Jomo Kenyatta preferred an alliance with the US and other Western powers.
Their differences worsened, with Jaramogi Odinga imprisoned for 18 months until he was released in 1971.
Raila Odinga was also a former political prisoner, and holds the record for being Kenya’s longest-serving detainee.
His struggle against one-party dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the rule of Jomo Kenyatta’s successor, Daniel arap Moi.
He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.
After multi-party democracy was introduced a decade later, Odinga repeatedly failed in his attempt to win power, often saying he had been cheated of victory.
This led to one of the biggest political crises in Kenya’s history, when about 1,200 people died and thousands fled their homes after Odinga was convinced that then-President Mwai Kibaki stole the 2007 election.
After mediation talks led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, Odinga took the post of prime minister in a coalition government, but his relationship with Kibaki was marred by what he called “supremacy wars”.
In the 2017 election, he lost to Uhuru Kenyatta at the ballot box, but won in the Supreme Court, which nullified the result because of the widespread irregularities he had highlighted.
Odinga, however, boycotted the re-run, saying a level playing field had not been created.
This paved the way for the re-election of Kenyatta, while Odinga – reputed to be a master strategist and mass mobiliser – declared himself “the people’s president” at a huge rally in the capital, Nairobi.
His supporters heeded his call to boycott the large number of businesses owned by the Kenyatta family to show their anger at the president’s re-election.
The long-standing rivalry between Odinga and Kenyatta ended with a famous handshake in 2018. It culminated with Kenyatta backing Odinga’s final bid for the presidency in 2022.
Odinga was described as a dedicated pan-Africanist who criticised what he called neo-colonialism. He championed African unity, self-reliance and integration through the building of infrastructure like roads, serving as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development from 2018 and 2023.
He was also appointed by the African Union (AU) to mediate in the 2010-2011 political crisis that broke out in Ivory Coast after then-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to give up power after losing to Alassane Ouattara in elections.
However, his efforts failed to resolve the stand-off, as Gbagbo rejected him as a mediator, accusing him of being biased towards Ouattara.
In his spare time, Odinga was seen in the gym, and taking walks in his neighbourhood in Nairobi, and in his village in Siaya in western Kenya.
He was born on 7 Januray 1945 in Maseno in Kisumu county, and studied in what was then East Germany, acquiring a master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1970.
Odinga was married to Mama Ida and together they have four children – the late Fidel, Rosemary, Raila Junior and Winnie.
Fidel was named after Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Odinga once explained that he had chosen the name because his son was born at the height of the Cold War, and “Mr Castro was seen to be standing against the US in the Vietnam war”.
Odinga may have been critical of US foreign policy, but he championed the creation of a Western-style democracy in Kenya.
He will probably be best-remembered as one of the founding fathers of multi-party democracy in Kenya, even if he felt that the electoral system was so flawed that it denied him the opportunity to become president.
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Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC.
Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India.
In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his health, although family members and political allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill.
A political mobiliser and towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times. He rejected the results on each occasion, often saying that victory had been stolen from him.
He was vindicated by Kenya’s highest court after the 2017 elections, when it annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory and ordered fresh polls. However, he boycotted the rerun, demanding electoral reforms.
He has often reconciled with the incumbent president after contentious elections.
After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined President William Ruto in a so-called broad-based government, which brought several of his allies into key positions.
He defended the move as necessary for national unity, coming in the aftermath of watershed nationwide protests last year that culminated in the storming of parliament. Dozens of protesters were killed in confrontations with security officers.
The Ruto administration backed Odinga’s bid to become chairperson of the African Union Commission, in elections held earlier this year. Despite strong regional support, he lost to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
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Azimio coalition leader Raila Odinga is set to hold a rally against President William Ruto’s administration in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) on Wednesday, with tirade against the electoral agency and the high cost of living expected to take centre stage.
Even though the meeting at Jevanjee Gardens has been touted as a prayer rally, Nation.Africa has established that Mr Odinga will use it to set the stage for a major push for an overhaul of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), protests over the high cost of living and “inadequate measures by the government to address the drought in the country”.
Mr Odinga, who initially announced that the prayers would take place at IEBC’s offices at Anniversary Towers, is demanding that the entire infrastructure and records of the 2022 election be made public, and that all stakeholders get involved in the reconstitution of the body.
“It will be a major interdenominational prayer rally involving all faiths. Anybody who thinks he has faith anywhere is invited to the meeting [sic],” Mr Junet Mohammed, secretary-general of the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Coalition told Nation.Africa.
The coalition is expected to turn the heat on IEBC chief executive Marjan Hussein Marjan in the coming weeks, following the exit of chairman Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu.
Mr Odinga believes the three, together with Mr Marjan and other…
