Thousands of mourners attended a state funeral for Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Friday under heavy security after a deadly day that saw officers open fire to disperse crowds at a stadium hosting a public viewing of his body.
Odinga, a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.
He commanded a passionate following in the East African nation and huge crowds took to the streets from early Thursday, storming the country's main airport when the plane carrying his body arrived and later breaching a gate of the Nairobi stadium hosting the public viewing.
Security forces then fired in the air and police lobbed tear gas to disperse the crowd, according to a Reuters witness. Police said three people were killed, while KTN News and Citizen TV put the number of fatalities at four, with scores injured.
Kenyan authorities deployed heavy security on Friday, with police keeping crowds at a distance outside parliament, footage from local television and Ruto's office showed.
Odinga's body was taken to the parliament where it would lie in state before being taken to Nairobi's Nyayo National Stadium, with President William Ruto, heads of the parliament and the judiciary in attendance.
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was among the African dignitaries seen at the ceremony.
Thousands of mourners at the stadium were waving white handkerchiefs and dancing at the venue which was bedecked with large banners with Odinga's portrait. Others blew whistles and vuvuzelas in honour of the man they referred to as "Baba" ("Father" in Swahili).
The mourners, some of whom were not yet born in 1991 when Kenya became a multi-party democracy, paid tribute to Odinga's efforts as an activist.
"Raila Odinga, the father of democracy in Kenya, was a selfless leader who would risk everything - even his life - to make Kenya work," Jean Jerry Abeka, 24, told Reuters.
Though mainly known as an opposition figure, Odinga became prime minister in 2008 and also struck a political pact with former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018, and with Ruto last year in a career of shifting alliances.
He commanded deep devotion among supporters countrywide, especially in his Luo tribe based in western Kenya, many of whom believe he was cheated of the presidency by electoral fraud.
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace d...
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate two-week cease...
Israel launched its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since hostilities escalated last month, killing over 100 people, even as Hezbollah halted attacks u...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye aims to rank among the world’s top ten exporters of defence technology within t...
China and Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday aimed at coordinating defensive efforts to protect commercial shipp...
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the U.S. after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people. The warning came from Iran's lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bager Qalibaf.
Israel launched its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since hostilities escalated last month, killing over 100 people, even as Hezbollah halted attacks under a disputed U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Türkiye aims to rank among the world’s top ten exporters of defence technology within the next two years.
China and Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday aimed at coordinating defensive efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving no agreed international framework for securing the vital route.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had stopped firing on northern Israel and Israeli forces on Wednesday as part of a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East brokered between the United States and Iran. However, a Hezbollah lawmaker warned that the pause could collapse if Tel Aviv does not adhere to it.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate two-week ceasefire covering all areas, but Israel says the deal excludes Lebanon. Tel Aviv says the U.S. is committed to achieving shared goals in upcoming negotiations.
The four astronauts aboard Artemis II briefly lost contact with Earth while flying behind the Moon, then regained it during a dramatic lunar far-side flyby.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Hungary days before the 12 April parliamentary election has underscored Washington’s open support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at a critical point in his political career.
Recent U.S. complaints about NATO allies and threats to quit the alliance are pushing European countries to seek alternative security arrangements, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday.
Greece will ban access to social media for children under 15 from 1 January 2027, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, citing rising anxiety, sleep problems and the addictive design of online platforms.
Trade discussions between China and the U.S. are expected to remain virtual for now, with no major investment initiatives planned before a potential meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The Russian T-90M tank is worth an estimated $4.5 million and was designed to dominate the battlefield. Yet this steel giant has repeatedly been destroyed by something far smaller, faster and thousands of times cheaper: the drone.
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards its east coast on Wednesday (8 April), South Korea’s military said, in a fresh show of force that underscored rising tensions despite brief signs of a possible thaw between the two sides.
The leader of Taiwan's largest opposition party used her first full day in mainland China to publicly pledge reconciliation, invoking the spirit of her party's founder, Sun Yat-sen, to call for unity whilst surprisingly praising the communist mainland’s developmental achievements.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment