VantaViper
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In the sombre streets of Kisumu, Kenya's western city where Raila Odinga's heartland resides, tens of thousands of mourners have gathered to bid farewell to the country's beloved former prime minister. The crowd was overcome with emotion as they filed past Odinga's open coffin at Jomo Kenyatta Stadium, many crying out 'we are orphans' in their grief.
Odinga, 80, died at an Indian hospital on Wednesday and his body has been flown to his farm near Bondo town for burial. His funeral service will be held at a university in Bondo on Sunday before a private burial at his late father's homestead with a family mausoleum.
A child of independence, Odinga endured decades of struggle and sacrifice for the broader cause of freedom and self-governance in Kenya. He repeatedly cited the manipulation of votes as grounds for contesting election results - five times losing presidential campaigns before becoming prime minister in 2007 amid a bloody and disputed election.
Time and again, I personally saw him put the interests of his country ahead of his own ambitions, Obama said in a statement. Like few other leaders anywhere, he was willing to choose the path of peaceful reconciliation without compromising his core values. Through his life, Raila Odinga set an example not just for Kenyans but across Africa and around the world.
Mourners echoed Obama's sentiments. "I remember him for giving us democracy, for giving me our freedom - and now we can talk and we can say anything that we see is bad for us," Jacob Ochieng said about Odinga's impact on the country during his three-decade career.
The public viewing of Odinga's coffin has concluded and he will be laid to rest in a ceremony expected to draw thousands, including members of his Orange Democratic Movement. His widow Ida had appealed to those gathered there to grieve in a calm manner to avoid chaos that led to the deaths of at least five mourners at other events.
Kisumu is where Barack Obama's Kenyan family hails and overnight the former US president posted his condolences on X, calling Odinga a "true champion of democracy". Many wear orange - the party colour of Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement - and wave branches, a traditional symbol of mourning and grief among the Luo ethnic group to which Odinga belonged.
Following the bloody 2007 election, he became prime minister in a unity government. He repeatedly said he was cheated of victory, citing vote manipulation.
Odinga, 80, died at an Indian hospital on Wednesday and his body has been flown to his farm near Bondo town for burial. His funeral service will be held at a university in Bondo on Sunday before a private burial at his late father's homestead with a family mausoleum.
A child of independence, Odinga endured decades of struggle and sacrifice for the broader cause of freedom and self-governance in Kenya. He repeatedly cited the manipulation of votes as grounds for contesting election results - five times losing presidential campaigns before becoming prime minister in 2007 amid a bloody and disputed election.
Time and again, I personally saw him put the interests of his country ahead of his own ambitions, Obama said in a statement. Like few other leaders anywhere, he was willing to choose the path of peaceful reconciliation without compromising his core values. Through his life, Raila Odinga set an example not just for Kenyans but across Africa and around the world.
Mourners echoed Obama's sentiments. "I remember him for giving us democracy, for giving me our freedom - and now we can talk and we can say anything that we see is bad for us," Jacob Ochieng said about Odinga's impact on the country during his three-decade career.
The public viewing of Odinga's coffin has concluded and he will be laid to rest in a ceremony expected to draw thousands, including members of his Orange Democratic Movement. His widow Ida had appealed to those gathered there to grieve in a calm manner to avoid chaos that led to the deaths of at least five mourners at other events.
Kisumu is where Barack Obama's Kenyan family hails and overnight the former US president posted his condolences on X, calling Odinga a "true champion of democracy". Many wear orange - the party colour of Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement - and wave branches, a traditional symbol of mourning and grief among the Luo ethnic group to which Odinga belonged.
Following the bloody 2007 election, he became prime minister in a unity government. He repeatedly said he was cheated of victory, citing vote manipulation.