Planned viewing of body moved to Jomo Kenyatta Stadium

The planned public viewing of the body of the late ODM leader Raila Odinga in Kisumu has been moved from Moi Stadium to Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Mamboleo as authorities anticipate a mammoth crowd.

Kisumu City manager Abala Wanga told The Standard that the decision is part of the preparations to ensure that the exercise is seamless.

Authorities are expecting mourners to turn up in large numbers to view the body of a man who wielded immense political power in the Nyanza and Western regions.

There are fears the events that took place at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport that saw mourners breach airport security and scatter the programme could replay in Kisumu where the former ODM chief commands fanatical following.

“We have decided to move the venue of the public viewing to Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Mamboleo. All plans are in place to ensure that our people get the opportunity to bid baba farewell,” said Wanga.

By 8am, crowds of mourners were sitting at various public spaces and in hotels as they followed the repatriation of Raila’s body back to the country on TV screens.

At the Kisumu Boys High School roundabout, mourners, still dumbfounded over the loss, were glued to the giant screen Governor Anyang Nyong’o’s administration has erected following the events in Nairobi.

Similarly, at various entertainment joints, crowds gathered with some still sobbing over the loss of a man they adored, a man whose visions and political actions has been the spine of the region’s political and economic direction.

On Wednesday, after the news of his passing was confirmed, all business activities in nearly all the towns in the region came to a standstill as the region mourned the loss of an icon.

Droves of mourners thronged the streets, waving twigs, leaves, placards, and chanting Luo traditional didges.