Tens of thousands of mourners have gathered in the Kenyan city of Kisumu to pay their respects to the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The 80-year-old's body is now lying in state in a stadium in his political heartland following his state funeral held on Friday in Nairobi, just two days after he died in a hospital in India. Security forces are on high alert following the deaths of at least five people at recent mourning events for Odinga. Mourners express their grief with cries of 'we are orphans' as they remember his legacy.
People of all ages began arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium before dawn on Saturday, many dressed in the party color of the Orange Democratic Movement, waving mourning branches as customary in the Luo culture.Odinga, regarded as a founding father of Kenya's multi-party democracy, lost five presidential campaigns and was known for his resilient spirit.
Former President Barack Obama, whose family hails from the area, described Odinga as a champion of democracy and a figure who put the interests of Kenya above his own. The funeral will conclude with a private burial at Odinga's farm in Bondo, a wish he expressed to his family to be laid to rest within 72 hours.
People of all ages began arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium before dawn on Saturday, many dressed in the party color of the Orange Democratic Movement, waving mourning branches as customary in the Luo culture.Odinga, regarded as a founding father of Kenya's multi-party democracy, lost five presidential campaigns and was known for his resilient spirit.
Former President Barack Obama, whose family hails from the area, described Odinga as a champion of democracy and a figure who put the interests of Kenya above his own. The funeral will conclude with a private burial at Odinga's farm in Bondo, a wish he expressed to his family to be laid to rest within 72 hours.
