Raila’s Body Viewing Moved to Kasarani
The remains of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga have been redirected to the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani. This change came about after huge crowds made it impossible to carry out the planned transfer as originally scheduled.
The initial plan was to move the body from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Lee Funeral Home for final preparations before it was to be taken to Parliament Buildings for public viewing. However, that plan was scrapped due to escalating crowd issues.
Military officials and morticians who were ready at Lee Funeral Home to receive and prepare the body have now been directed to Kasarani, where the process will take place instead.
“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.
The team reportedly left Lee around 11:05 a.m., as hundreds of mourners gathered outside the facility, despite the heavy security presence.
In light of the situation, security agencies made a last-minute call to reroute the motorcade from Mombasa Road, taking it through Outering Road to Kasarani, avoiding the central business district where crowds had already packed the major streets.
High-ranking government officials, including Cabinet Secretaries Geoffrey Ruku and Lee Kinyanjui, along with Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau, stayed at Lee even as police and military personnel began to quietly withdraw from the area.
Authorities pointed to the overwhelming crowds at JKIA, Mombasa Road, and the Nairobi CBD, which made it both logistically and safely unfeasible to stick to the original route to Parliament.
Later on, officials confirmed that dignitaries would first have the chance to view Raila’s body at Kasarani before the public is allowed in for the official state viewing ceremony.
The government has reassured mourners that all security and logistical arrangements are now being managed from Kasarani, where the late opposition leader will lie in state ahead of the upcoming national funeral events.
Thousands of Kenyans continue to flock to the capital to pay their respects to Raila Odinga, whose passing in India on Wednesday has cast the nation into mourning.
Raila’s Body Viewing Moved to Kasarani
