Six dead, dozens injured as masses scramble to view Raila Odinga’s body

During the farewell event on Thursday at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, where thousands of Kenyans thronged the stadium to view Mr Odinga’s body, three people died and several were injured.

Two more people lost their lives at Nyayo National Stadium on Friday during the State funeral of the multiparty and democracy fighter, while one person was shot dead in Homa Bay Town on Thursday night.

Nairobi County Chief Officer for Public Health, Dr Tom Nyakaba, told the Nation that the five bodies from the capital were received at the Nairobi Funeral Home (formerly City Mortuary). Three have been identified.

Among the three from the Kasarani stadium incident, Vincent Oguttu and Evans Kichie were identified by family and through official documents they had with them.

Mr Hussein Khalid, the Chief Executive Director of Vocal Africa, said the number of cases could rise.

In an interview with the Nation, Mr Khalid said that his team reported eight deaths.

Mr Khalid said that the body of the third victim from Kasarani incident was identified as Jidah Burka.

“According to family members who we met at the City Mortuary this morning, Jidah was 42 years old and is survived by his wife and three children. The family wanted to get the body for burial immediately as Jidah is a Muslim, but they were compelled to wait until Tuesday,” he said.

According to Kenya​​ Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), 40 people were treated by the ambulance services during the event at Kasarani and at Parliament Buildings.

“On October 17, at the Nyayo Stadium field hospital, the multi-agency teams attended to 163 patients and referred 34 others for further care. Most injuries involved blunt force trauma and fractures. Tragically, two lives were lost in the stampede that occurred,” MSF officials said in a statement.

The agency said the two died on the spot.

“Not all patients were from the stampede. The stampede happened later in the afternoon and we were treating patients throughout the day.”

Several attempts to seek alternative views from the Nairobi Regional Police Commander George Sedah were unsuccessful as calls and messages went unanswered.

On Friday, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Acting CEO Richard Lesiyampe said that the facility had received 34 patients. Only four were still undergoing treatment at the hospital, while the rest had been discharged.

A patient, who identified herself only as Susan, told the Nation: “I’m waiting to be taken to the theatre for an operation. I cannot tell whether it is bullets or rubber bullets. I sustained two shots; one in my thigh and my hand.”

In Homa Bay County, a sombre funeral procession held in honour of Mr Odinga turned tragic on Thursday night when a woman was fatally shot.

Lucy Oketch was on her way home after closing her coffee vending business when she was struck by a bullet in the thigh. She later succumbed to her injuries, bleeding to death in the early hours of the morning.

According to police reports, a constable has been arrested over the shooting.

Homa Bay County Police Commander Lawrence Koilem said that tensions escalated when some individuals within the crowd began throwing stones at the police station.

“The officer on duty, stationed at the OB desk, discharged his firearm into the air in an attempt to repel the crowd as they advanced towards the station gate,” he said.

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