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.
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Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $119 a barrel, as conflict in the Middle East rumbled on. Meanwhile, the Turkish Military said NATO air defence systems destroyed a missile fired from Iran towards the country.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Iranian civilian and military officials have pledged their obedience to the new leader, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying his leadership “will herald a new era of dignity and authority for the Iranian nation.”.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
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