Four people were killed in Nairobi on Thursday after Kenyan security forces opened fire and used tear gas to disperse massive crowds at a stadium where the body of opposition leader Raila Odinga lay in state, according to local media reports.
Odinga, an iconic figure in Kenyan politics for decades, died on Wednesday at the age of 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.
A former political prisoner, ex-prime minister and five-time presidential candidate, he remained one of Kenya’s most influential and polarizing leaders.
Witnesses said chaos erupted when thousands of mourners, gathered from early morning, forced their way through a gate at Nairobi’s main stadium. Soldiers responded by firing shots into the air.
A police source said that two people were initially confirmed dead, while KTN News and Citizen TV later reported that the death toll had risen to four, with dozens injured.
Television footage making rounds on social media showed police firing tear gas to scatter the crowds, leaving the stadium largely deserted soon after.
Earlier in the day, mourners had briefly overrun Nairobi’s international airport, disrupting a ceremony where President William Ruto and other officials were receiving Odinga’s body with full military honors. The chaos led to a two-hour suspension of airport operations.
Crowds also spilled onto nearby roads and attempted to storm parliament, where the government had originally planned to hold the public viewing.
Although best known as an opposition leader, Odinga served as Kenya’s prime minister from 2008 and later forged a political alliance with Ruto in 2024—one of many shifts in a long and turbulent career.
He commanded deep loyalty among supporters, particularly within his Luo community in western Kenya, many of whom believe he was repeatedly denied the presidency through electoral fraud.
For many younger Kenyans who filled the streets to honor him some not even born when Kenya embraced multiparty democracy in 1991Odinga’s legacy as a reformist and activist remains a powerful symbol of resistance and hope.
