By Vincent Mumo and George Obulutsa
NAIROBI (Reuters) -A number of mourners were injured in a stampede at the state funeral of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Friday as a crowd surged to view his body, local broadcaster NTV reported, with thousands attending the tribute.
Odinga commanded a passionate following in the East African nation and his memorial ceremonies have attracted huge crowds. Three people shot dead by security forces a day earlier when mourners breached a gate of the stadium hosting a public viewing of his body.
Odinga, a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday, aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.
NTV posted on its X account a picture of emergency services attending to a person injured in the stampede, with a caption saying “First aiders attend to mourners injured during stampede as crowd surges to view Raila Odinga’s body at Nyayo Stadium.”
It did not provide further details and calls to police by Reuters were not immediately answered.
Kenyan authorities had deployed heavy security on Friday, with police keeping crowds at a distance, footage from local television and President William Ruto’s office showed.
Thousands of mourners waved white handkerchiefs and danced at the venue which was bedecked with large banners with Odinga’s portrait. Others blew whistles and vuvuzelas in honour of the man they referred to as “Baba” (“Father” in Swahili).
After dignitaries left the venue, mourners were invited to a public viewing of the body, when the stampede occurred.
Odinga’s body will be taken for burial on Sunday in his homestead in western Kenya, where he commanded particularly deep devotion among members of his Luo tribe, many of whom believe he was cheated of the presidency by electoral fraud.
Though mainly known as an opposition figure, Odinga became prime minister in 2008 and also struck a political pact with former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018, and with Ruto last year in a career of shifting alliances.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Vincent Mumo; editing by Ammu Kannampilly and Toby Chopra)
