For a few hours, operations at Kenya’s main airport were briefly suspended after dozens of mourners showed up to receive the body of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, a day after he died in India at age 80.
Huge crowds of mourners carrying palm branches and twigs breached security at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) right after Odinga’s body arrived on Thursday morning.
Authorities revealed that mourners gained access to restricted areas, leading to a “precautionary closure” to allow security teams to restore order and ensure safety.
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Hours later, the airport stated that operations had been restored after the shutdown, which took about two hours long.
Authorities confirmed that due to the unexpectedly large crowds, the public viewing ceremony for the body of Odinga has been moved to Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre, instead of inside the parliament building.
Mourners jammed the streets and other locations in the capital, just waiting to welcome Odinga’s body.
They gathered on the highway from the airport, at Lee Funeral Home, where the body was first expected, and around the parliament.
“I came here at six in the morning. We have been at the airport to welcome Baba [Odinga’s nickname], we have not yet seen him. We are waiting and we hope we’ll see him, we’ll not leave until we do. We are sad, we have been left as orphans. He is our father,” said one mourner to the BBC close to the airport.
The state funeral will be held on Friday at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, and on Saturday, the body of Raila Odinga will be transported to Kisumu, a city in western Kenya on the shores of Lake Victoria – his political stronghold.
His family revealed that members of the public will be granted the opportunity to view the body before he is buried on Sunday at his farm in Bondo, about 60km west of Kisumu.
Odinga’s family said it was his wish to be laid to rest within the shortest time possible, ideally within 72 hours.
During a morning walk in India on Wednesday morning, the 80-year-old former prime minister collapsed and was taken to Devamatha Hospital, about 50km (30 miles) east of the port city of Kochi.
In Kenya, a seven-day period of mourning has been declared, and Odinga will be accorded a state funeral with full military honors, said Ruto.
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Odinga spent several years as an opposition leader, losing five presidential campaigns, the most recent coming three years ago.
