In pictures: Thousands pay respects to Raila Odinga in Kisumu

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 RAILA ODINGA: 1945 - 2025 

A large number of people gathered in Kenya's western city of Kisumu on Saturday (October 18) to view the body of former prime minister Raila Odinga, whose death at the age of 80 on Wednesday has gripped the entire nation and beyond.

There were cries of "Baba" (father) and "We are orphans" from the tens of thousands of people packing the streets of Kisumu, the heartland of Odinga's support, as his casket arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Mamboleo by helicopter.

Mourners and supporters had already filled the stands of the stadium ahead of the arrival of Odinga's body.

Odinga died from a suspected heart attack in India on Wednesday, triggering a huge outpouring of grief across the country, but particularly in western Kenya where his Luo tribe are dominant. His body was repatriated from India on Thursday.

Mourners barged through security barriers and clambered up the sides of the stadium and nearby structures to catch a glimpse of the revered politician's casket.

Miles away in Kenya's capital Nairobi, people watched the live broadcast of the public mourning ceremony from a viewing area in Kibera.

Arguably the most important political figure of his generation in Kenya, Odinga served as prime minister from 2008 to 2013 yet never succeeded in winning the presidency despite five attempts.

But he outlasted many rivals and is credited as a major player in returning Kenya to multi-party democracy in the 1990s and overseeing the widely praised constitution of 2010.

At the stadium in Mamboleo, tens of thousands of mourners and supporters lined up to view Odinga's body.

This mourner carried symbolic cattle horns painted in the color of the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) that was led by Odinga.

Many people could not hold back tears after viewing the former prime minister's body.

Kenyan mounted police had to quell the surge by mourners pushing forward during the public viewing.

Emergency responders said they had taken more than 100 people out of the stadium, mostly due to fainting and dehydration.

Odinga's death leaves a leadership vacuum in the opposition, with critics accusing him of failing to prepare a successor. "We have not accepted that he is really gone. It is still a bad dream," said shop owner Maureen Owesi, 39, in Kisumu.

Mourners showed their respect to the late leader in different ways. Some waved, others bowed and others saluted as they were hurried past the casket.

Odinga was described in many ways in different circles. To many, he was an icon.

Kenyans continue to mourn what they called a "black Wednesday", the day Odinga breathed his last during a health trip in India.

After lying in state in Kisumu, Odinga's body was transferred to Bondo in nearby Siaya county, the family's ancestral seat, for a private burial on Sunday.

Some climbed trees and walls as they watched the body airlifted to his Opoda Farm in Bondo, for yet another viewing. 

They waved and whistled and cried and prayed, bidding farewell to their beloved son of the soil.