🔗 Share this article

Four people perished in the capital city when security forces opened fire and deployed teargas to scatter enormous assemblies at a sports arena where opposition leader Raila Odinga's body was on public view.

Political Figure Remembered

The statesman, who remained a major force in Kenyan politics for decades, died on midweek at 80 years old while in hospital care in the subcontinent.

He campaigned vigorously for political pluralism, and we are enjoying those freedoms today because of his efforts.

Turmoil Breaks Out at Stadium

Numerous devotees congregated on the streets from sunrise, with disorder occurring when a large crowd broke through a barrier at Nairobi's main stadium, leading to military personnel to shoot skyward.

• Two individuals perished from bullets at the stadium
• Fatalities later rose to 4
• Scores of individuals sustained injuries
• Authorities employed irritants to scatter thousands grievers

Airport Disruption and Government Building Confrontation

Earlier in the day, countless of grievers briefly stormed the city's air terminal, disrupting a formal proceeding where the nation's leader and other officials were accepting Odinga's remains with military honors.

This event prompted a two-hour suspension of aviation services.

Assemblies also flooded surrounding thoroughfares and tried to enter parliament, where the government had first arranged the community homage.

Political Impact and Ethnic Backing

Although primarily recognized as an opposition figure, Odinga assumed the role of senior minister in 2008 and also established a alliance with the leader last year in a political journey marked by shifting alliances.

He commanded strong loyalty among adherents, particularly in his Luo community based in western Kenya, many of whom contend he was denied the highest office by electoral fraud.

Many of Odinga's mourners, who were not living in 1991 when Kenya established itself as a multi-party democracy, offered homage to Odinga's work as an advocate.