- Raila Odinga’s body was transported from India after he died while receiving treatment.
- A large crowd gathered at the airport disrupted plans to take the body to Lee Park for safekeeping
- Oburu Oginga disclosed that embalmers were forced to carry out the operation of preserving and preparing the body at Kasarani Stadium after the mourners refused to release the body
After the former prime minister of Kenya, Raila Odingadied while receiving treatment in India, emergency arrangements were made to bring his body home.
Source: Facebook
A delegation of high-ranking officials and close family members traveled to India to escort the body, which was flown to Nairobi in a casket.
The plan was to take the body to Lee Park for safekeeping before public display in the Parliament buildings.
However, the situation suddenly changed when the body arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Thousands of followers had gathered to receive the deceased, wanting to see the body immediately.
The overpopulation made it impossible for the government and the family to follow their original plan.
Finally, the procession headed to the Stadium Kasaraniwhere the crowd had already begun to grow rapidly and become difficult to control.
As security officials tried to control the crowd, violence broke out. The police fired tear gas and bullets in the air to disperse the crowd, causing several injuries while others were reported dead.
Shortly after, the President William Ruto and other national leaders arrived in Kasarani to lead the nation to pay their last respects to the former opposition leader.
Where was Raila’s body prepared before being shown to the public? In an interview with NTV on Sunday, November 2, Raila’s elder brother, Oburu Oginga, opened up about what happened behind the scenes as the family tried to preserve the body amid the violence.
Oburu explained that handling Raila’s body in India was a big challenge because the custom there is to burn it.
Finding a proper place to store the body and a good casket took time and special preparation.
He disclosed that once the body arrived in Kenya, the plan was to take it directly to the Lee Park for professional preservation and treatment of the body before it is displayed to the public.
For luck Unfortunately, a large crowd that had gathered at the airport prevented the plan.
“First, I ignored the size of the crowd at the airport. The sea of people was outside, and we just wanted them to give us time to dress the body properly. I tried to talk to them, asking them to allow us to prepare the body before showing it to Kasarani or Parliament, but they completely refused,” he said.
The family and the national burial committee were forced to allow the crowd to escort the body to Kasarani due to increased pressure.
Were tear gas fired in Kasarani to disperse the mourners?
It was in that field that the embalmers from Lee Funeral Home went to work to preserve and prepare the body for public display.
“The crowd insisted that they were not ready to release the body. Then I realized how much they loved Raila,” Oburu said. “Finally, the operation to preserve the body was done in Kasarani. You saw tear gas being fired, it was to clean the area so that experts could quickly dress the body and change the coffin that came from India. Experts from Lee were there, and the work was done quickly,” he added.
Oburu added that the size of the crowd reminded him of the funeral of their father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, although this time it was more emotional.
Read ENGLISH VERSION
Do you have an exciting story that you would like us to publish? Please contact us via news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
