KISUMU — Emergency teams in Kisumu worked frantically on Saturday after hundreds of mourners fainted during the public viewing of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s body at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Mamboleo.
The lakeside city, draped in black, orange, and national flags, had been preparing for days to receive its most beloved son. But as dawn broke, the weight of grief — combined with heat and sheer numbers — overwhelmed both mourners and medics.
By 6 a.m., queues snaked outside the 30,000-seater stadium. Some had camped overnight, wrapped in blankets and clutching portraits of Raila. Others had travelled in buses and private vehicles from Homa Bay, Siaya, Migori, Busia, and Kakamega, determined to say goodbye.
When the gates finally opened at 9:48 a.m., a massive surge followed. People pushed forward, tears mixing with dust as songs of mourning filled the air. Within minutes, the first collapses were reported.
Witnesses described scenes of confusion and heartbreak. “People were fainting everywhere,” said James Onyango, a Kisumu resident who had queued since midnight. “The sun was too hot, and everyone was pushing to get in. It was painful to watch.”
Red Cross and St. John Ambulance volunteers sprinted through the crowd, carrying stretchers and oxygen tanks. Paramedics worked on the ground, fanning the fainted and giving out bottled water. Ambulances blared as they ferried the most critical cases to hospitals across Kisumu town.
Security forces joined in, forming human chains to carve paths for rescuers. Police officers lifted the unconscious out of the masses while soldiers distributed water from jerrycans.
Although no official figures were released by press time, eyewitnesses estimated that over a hundred mourners collapsed, mostly from exhaustion and dehydration. Medical tents around the stadium were filled to capacity by mid-morning.
Despite the chaos, the public viewing continued in solemn order. Thousands streamed past the flag-draped casket, some dropping to their knees in prayer, others waving small flags and branches in farewell. Songs of liberation — familiar from Raila’s rallies — rose and fell with emotion.
Officials pleaded for calm. “We urge mourners to take care of themselves and remain orderly,” a local administrator said through a megaphone. “There is enough time for everyone to view Baba.”
For many in Kisumu, Raila’s homecoming was not just a farewell — it was a pilgrimage. His death, at the age of 80, has drawn unprecedented mourning across Kenya.
The viewing at Mamboleo was part of the final leg of the national farewell ahead of Raila’s burial on Sunday at his Bondo home in Siaya County — the place where his journey, both political and personal, began.