#raila-odinga

#raila-odinga

There were scuffles as crowds surged forward to see the coffin at Jomo Kenyatta Stadium. Security personnel, some mounted on horses, struggled to hold mourners back. Many had stayed overnight, waiting for an the opportunity to view Odinga's body. Some fainted due to the heat and long lines during the public viewing. "It was much better than Nairobi. We were ready for it," Philip Nyaswa, a member of the emergency team in Kisumu said.

Dozens of people have been injured at a memorial event in Kenya's western city of Kisumu as huge crowds gathered to view the body of revered former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, local media reported. The injuries occurred on Saturday at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium despite authorities deploying military units, police and aerial surveillance to prevent a recurrence of deadly and chaotic incidents that marked earlier memorial proceedings on Thursday and Friday.

A man who was both divisive and revered, he came from an aristocratic political lineage. His father, Oginga Odinga, had been a leading figure in the movement for independence from Britain in 1963 and served as vice-president to the country's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, who begat his own lineage. It was Kenyatta's son, Uhuru, who defeated Raila Odinga in the 2017 presidential elections.