Tears, disbelief, a wave of sadness, loud anguish, and an outpouring of organic love for a man befitting the status of a hero marked the scenes in Kisumu as ODM leader Raila Odinga made his final lap to the lakeside city. Baba is really gone.
Crowds battled cascades of tears, waving flags, twigs, and ODM regalia. In their faces was a glaring cocktail of disbelief, pain, and heartbreak, the grief of a people who loved and cherished him deeply.
Hours earlier, multitudes had spent the night in vigils across Kisumu’s streets, lighting candles, singing Luo traditional dirges, kneeling en masse to offer prayers, with some breaking down uncontrollably. It was a moment in history to behold, a unique sendoff to a man whose boots will be hard to fill, an enigma.
Mourners overwhelmed with grief as Raila Odinga’s body arrives at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu.
Video by Olivia Odhiambo pic.twitter.com/JTk0PFJkZK
— The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) October 18, 2025
While the center of focus was the Kenyatta Stadium in Mamboleo, where the body of Agwambo lay and his followers trooped in for one last glimpse, more scenes of grief unfolded across the Nyanza region.
Heartbroken mothers held the hands of their children, some too young to comprehend the moment. The elderly, unable to muscle their way into the stadium, sat pensively as Gen Zs blew whistles and wept inside.
The Baba who would sweep them off their feet and send them into a frenzy with his characteristic opening line, “Ayaa! Ayaa! Jothurwa! (Our people), umor? (Are you happy?)” was no more. This was the last time they would see him in Kisumu, albeit lifeless.
This dark and painful reality left mourners broken as they bade farewell to a legend, a man of all seasons, the only political voice they listened to and followed with near-fanatical devotion.
Kisumu and Nyanza at large were dear to the ODM chief. His journey began here, in the sprawling slums of Kaloleni. Raila was Kisumu, and Kisumu was Raila.
This perhaps explains the deafening cries that rent the air, enveloping the entire city as residents thronged Kenyatta Stadium to mourn their hero.
For the last three days, the city has known no sleep. An endless session of mourning has been its constant rhythm, climaxing with today’s public viewing of Agwambo’s body, a painful reality that many say still feels like a bad dream.
As early as 3 a.m., droves of residents began marching toward the stadium to await his body. A miscommunication over the itinerary saw thousands more lining up in Kondele.
The group struggled to access the stadium as thousands more trooped to the venue, leaves and twigs glued to their hands.
And when the plane ferrying his body landed at the Kisumu International Airport, a cloud of gloom fell over the city. Where tears failed, chants rose; where voices broke, whistles filled the air. The pain had to be heard, and shared, perhaps to ease the weight of it.
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Several mourners told The Standard they had travelled long distances and spent the night in the cold to mourn their hero.
Maureen Akinyi, a mother of three, said she had travelled from Mombasa to witness Raila’s final moments.
“We are broken, and it will take us time to heal. He was our pillar and the voice that transformed our country,” she said.
Others said they had travelled from Nairobi, Isebania, and Migori to have a glimpse of Raila’s body.
Inside the stadium, military and police officers beefed up security as mourners lined up to pay their last respects.
The viewing ceremony is expected to end at 3 p.m., before the body is ferried to his Opoda home by road. He will be buried tomorrow at Kango Ka Jaramogi.
