NAIROBI, Kenya — The Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, was packed to near capacity on Thursday evening as thousands of mourners gathered to view the body of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga.
The government made a last-minute decision to divert Odinga’s remains to Kasarani after overwhelming crowds made it impossible to proceed with the initial plan to transfer the body to Parliament Buildings for public viewing.
Initial arrangements had directed that the body, flown in from India earlier in the day, be moved from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Lee Funeral Home for final preparations before being taken to Parliament.
But massive turnouts along the planned route brought Nairobi to a standstill, forcing officials to alter the schedule.
“The crowd was simply uncontrollable. The mortician and his team have left in the military van,” a senior official at Lee Funeral Home told journalists earlier in the day.
Military and mortuary teams who had been stationed at Lee were redirected to Kasarani, where the state viewing will now take place.
The convoy reportedly left Lee at around 11:05 a.m., shortly before mourners began flooding the area despite a heavy police presence.
Security agencies later rerouted the motorcade from Mombasa Road through Outering Road to Kasarani, bypassing the central business district where thousands of supporters had already filled major streets.
By evening, the 60,000-capacity stadium was nearly full as mourners—many waving flags and carrying portraits of Odinga—waited to pay their final respects.
Senior government officials, including Cabinet Secretaries Geoffrey Ruku and Lee Kinyanjui, and Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau, remained at Lee Funeral Home even as police and military officers withdrew from the area following the diversion.
Officials confirmed that dignitaries will first view Odinga’s body at Kasarani before members of the public are allowed in for the official state viewing.
The government assured Kenyans that all logistical and security operations are now being coordinated from Kasarani, where the late opposition leader will lie in state ahead of national funeral events expected over the coming days.
Odinga’s death in India on Wednesday has plunged the country into mourning, drawing crowds from across Kenya to the capital to bid farewell to the veteran politician many fondly called Baba.
