“Now finally Baba is home,” his son, Raila Odinga junior, said beside his father’s casket, draped in the Kenyan flag.

The burial concluded days of memorials that at times led to chaos, with at least five mourners dying at other events and dozens injured at a public viewing on Saturday.

Odinga died on Wednesday, aged 80 in an Indian hospital.

He became prime minister after the bloody and disputed 2007 election and was the main opposition leader for many years, losing five presidential campaigns, most recently three years ago.

He retains a devotional following in the west of the country. Former US President Barack Obama, whose Kenyan family hails from the same region, called Odinga a “true champion of democracy”.

Politicians, relatives and throngs of his supporters waved Kenyan flags and held his picture aloft as they gathered at Sunday’s memorial service, which was held at a university in Bondo.

“Even in the grave, he still remains our hero,” one mourner told the AFP news agency.

Military personnel carried Odinga’s coffin to the front, where a choir sang and speakers, including Kenyan President William Ruto, remembered him.

“His courage, his vision, and his unyielding faith in our collective destiny will forever illuminate the path of our nation,” Ruto said in a post on Facebook about the event.

“His return to Bondo was not merely a homecoming; it was the embrace of a grateful Republic bidding farewell to one of its greatest sons, a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of justice, democracy, and the enduring unity of our beloved Kenya.”

Odinga was buried nearby at his late father’s homestead, where there is a family mausoleum.

Multiple memorial events had already taken place, including a state funeral in Nairobi on Friday and a public viewing in a stadium in his home city of Kisumu on Saturday.

At the viewing, tens of thousands filed past his open coffin, many crying out the phrase “we are orphans”.

At least three people were killed when police opened fire to disperse mourners, with dozens more injured in the chaotic scenes that followed.

Source: BBC

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In a message shared on his Facebook page, Akufo-Addo extended heartfelt condolences to Mr. Odinga’s family, the people of Kenya, and President William Samoei Ruto.

He described the late leader as “a great son of Africa” and a “dear friend” whose death has touched many across the continent.

“I extend my deepest condolences to the people of the great sisterly nation of Kenya, President William Samoei Ruto, and to the family of the late Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga.

“News of the passing of this great son of Africa, who, for a long time, was a very good friend of mine, has been received with widespread sadness,” Akufo-Addo mourned.

Reflecting on their long association, Mr. Akufo-Addo said he and Mr. Odinga shared a mutual commitment to democracy, human rights, and good governance across Africa.

“Aside the many encounters and thought-experiences upon which we held deep convictions, Prime Minister Odinga and I shared mutual values on strengthening democracy and advancing the human rights of Africa’s citizens,” he noted.

The former president also recalled Mr. Odinga’s presence at his inauguration on January 7, 2017, describing him as one of the distinguished guests who graced the event at Independence Square in Accra.

Akufo-Addo further mentioned Ghana’s strong support for Mr. Odinga’s 2024 African Union Commission Chairperson bid, which brought both President Ruto and Mr. Odinga to Ghana that year.

“As a founding member of the African Union, I pledged Ghana’s support, without hesitation, when President Ruto visited Ghana to secure our backing for Prime Minister Odinga’s candidacy. Indeed, he visited me himself in November 2024 as part of his campaign,”
he said.

Paying tribute to the late Kenyan leader, Mr. Akufo-Addo described Odinga as a pillar of Kenya’s democratic growth whose influence extended far beyond his nation.

“His remarkable footprints on Kenya’s stability, democracy, and history will never be forgotten,” Akufo-Addo stated. “He will be sorely missed.”

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In a message shared on his official Facebook page, President Mahama conveyed his sympathies to President William Samoei Ruto, Mama Idah Odinga, the Odinga family, and the people of Kenya.

Raila Odinga died on Wednesday, October 15, at the age of 80, while receiving treatment in Kochi, India. Reports indicate he suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital.

A towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga was a steadfast champion of democracy. Although he never secured the presidency despite five attempts, his role was central to Kenya’s political transformation, including the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1991 and the adoption of a new constitution in 2010.

His leadership during the post-election protests of 2007 — a turbulent period marked by violence and national division — remains a defining moment in Kenya’s recent history.

Messages of tribute have poured in from across Africa and beyond as leaders honour Odinga’s legacy and far-reaching influence.

Source: Adomonline

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Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India.

In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his health, although family members and political allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill.

A political mobiliser and towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times. He rejected the results on each occasion, often saying that victory had been stolen from him.

He was vindicated by Kenya’s highest court after the 2017 elections, when it annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory and ordered fresh polls. However, he boycotted the rerun, demanding electoral reforms.

He has often reconciled with the incumbent president after contentious elections.

After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined President William Ruto in a so-called broad-based government, which brought several of his allies into key positions.

He defended the move as necessary for national unity, coming in the aftermath of watershed nationwide protests last year that culminated in the storming of parliament. Dozens of protesters were killed in confrontations with security officers.

The Ruto administration backed Odinga’s bid to become chairperson of the African Union Commission, in elections held earlier this year. Despite strong regional support, he lost to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.

Odinga inspired a passionate and loyal following throughout his political career, especially in western Kenya, where he was from.

His supporters called him “Baba” (Father), “Agwambo” (Act of God), and “Tinga” (Tractor) – drawn from his party’s symbol during the 1997 elections.

He was widely regarded as a master strategist and mass mobiliser, often drawing huge crowds to his political rallies, and he had a deep ability to connect with ordinary people.

He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for democratic freedoms and human rights.

He was a former political prisoner, and holds the record for being Kenya’s longest-serving detainee. His struggle against one-party dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the rule of Daniel arap Moi.

He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.

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Mr Odinga’s lawyers made their submissions during Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing of their request to nullify Mr Ruto’s victory, citing gross mismanagement of the election.

They told the court that the transmission system for the results forms was compromised by unauthorised access by known and unknown persons.

This led to manipulation of vote information during the transmission between polling stations and the national tallying centre.

They further argued that voters in Mr Odinga’s support bases were disenfranchised because of technology hitches on voting day and postponement of elections.

Mr Ruto’s legal team will offer its rebuttal later on Wednesday. The other five petitioners will also argue their case later.

Meanwhile, a recount of votes from 15 of the 46,000 polling stations is underway outside the courthouse as ordered by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

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A local newspaper has tweeted a picture of the truck arriving at the court building:

A truck carrying evidence for Azimio presidential petition arrives at the Milimani Court.

Photos| Dennis Onsongo| NMG pic.twitter.com/pu2RoY1PhE

— Nation Africa (@NationAfrica) August 22, 2022

Mr Odinga, his running mate, Martha Karua and lawyers, who will be representing them, have already filed the case at the Supreme Court.

The court has two weeks to look into the case and issue a verdict.

One of Mr Odinga’s lawyers has tweeted the moment they physically filed the case at the court:

O God of all creation,
Bless this our land and nation.
Justice be our shield and defender… pic.twitter.com/k1bMtikAj8

— James Orengo (@orengo_james) August 22, 2022

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According to the electoral commission, Mr Odinga took 48.8% of the vote, losing to William Ruto’s 50.5%.

However, four of the seven electoral commissioners refused to endorse the outcome alleging that the way the final results were tallied was “opaque”.

The seven judges at the Supreme Court will have 14 days to make a ruling.

One of the arguments that Mr Odinga is putting forward is that the voter turnout figure was manipulated. The allegation is that number was altered to show that Mr Ruto had crossed the 50%-plus-one-vote threshold needed to avoid a second-round run-off.

Supporters of Mr Odinga gathered outside the court in a suburb of the capital, Nairobi, on Monday morning waiting for the lawyers to hand over the physical documents. Their placards read: “Protect our Vote” and “Electoral Justice Now!”

They cheered and chanted as the presidential candidate and his running mate, Martha Karua, arrived at the court to formally submit the case.

Speaking last week, Mr Odinga described the result as a “travesty”, adding that the election should be declared “null and void”.

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This is the third time in a row that he has gone to court to get an outcome overturned.

In 2017, the veteran politician successfully challenged the result of that year’s presidential election, which he lost to Uhuru Kenyatta, and the Supreme Court ordered a re-run. The case highlighted logistical issues in the way the results were collated.

This time the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) tried to make the results process as transparent as possible by publishing the polling station tallies as soon as they were available.

An independent Kenyan monitoring group said the IEBC’s final result was in line with its own projection.

A week ago, there were chaotic scenes at the national tallying centre moments before the final result of the 9 August poll was about to be read out.

Some of Mr Odinga’s political allies stormed the stage and scuffles broke out. Two electoral commissioners were injured and four others left the compound to hold a press conference to denounce the outcome.

Nevertheless, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati proceeded with the announcement and handed Mr Ruto the certificate confirming that he was the winner.

Last week, Mr Ruto said he would respect the court process, which is part of the country’s electoral law.

“I’m a democrat. I believe in the rule of law. I respect our institutions,” he told journalists.

According to the official results, Mr Odinga narrowly lost to Deputy President William Ruto.

Mr Odinga accused the head of the electoral body of a “blatant disregard of the constitution”.

“We totally without reservation reject the presidential election results,” he said.

Making his remarks in front of supporters in the capital, Nairobi, he said that there was “neither a legally elected winner nor a president-elect”.

The 77-year-old long-time opposition leader was running for president for the fifth time. He has challenged the results in the previous two elections, including successfully in 2017.

This time round, the chairman of the electoral body Wafula Chebukat said he got 48.8% of the vote in last Tuesday’s election compared to Mr Ruto’s 50.5%.

Mr Odinga accused Mr Chebukati of “gross impunity” saying his team will pursue all legal options. He called his declaration “a major setback” to Kenya’s democracy that could trigger a political crisis.

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He said that Mr Chebukati went against the law by announcing the result without the backing of his fellow commissioners. But an ally of Mr Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi, told BBC Focus on Africa radio that commissioners are required to collate the results but do not determine the result.

This is a legal point that may in the end have to be tested in court.

Minutes before Mr Odinga spoke, four of seven electoral commissioners who refused to approve Monday’s results, held a press conference to give their reasons.

They accused Mr Chebukati of side-lining them and of announcing results that were full of “mathematic absurdity and defied logic”.

Juliana Cherera, the vice-chairperson of the commission, said that if you added the percentages as announced by the chairperson of the commission the sum came to 100.01%.

But the BBC’s Reality Check team says that this was down to a rounding error and is not suspicious.

Mr Odinga has however commended the four commissioners for their “heroism”.

“The majority of (the electoral commission) – who stood up to the bullying and illegal conduct of Mr Chebukati, we are proud of them and ask them not to fear anything. Kenyans are with them,” he said.

On Monday, Mr Ruto described the objections of the commissioners as a “side-show”, but said he would respect a legal process. He also called for unity, saying he wanted to be a president for all, and for the country to focus on the future.

Last week’s election was largely peaceful. The electoral commission was widely praised for conducting a transparent process by posting on its website results from more than 46,000 polling stations and encouraging anyone to conduct their own tally.

However, scuffles broke out at the counting centre on Monday after Mr Odinga’s supporters accused the electoral commission of tampering with votes and attempted to block Mr Chebukati from announcing the final results. At least three poll officials were injured in the melee.

Calm has been restored in the country after a mixture of celebrations and violent protests followed the official declaration of the presidential results.

Thousands of supporters, clad in yellow, Mr Ruto’s party colours, poured onto the streets of Eldoret in the Rift Valley. In contrast in the western city of Kisumu, Mr Odinga’s supporters blocked roads and lit bonfires. Similar scenes played out at several towns and in the capital, Nairobi.

Generally there is a sense of relief that the counting process is over because the election season often means that life grinds to a halt.

But people will be paying attention to Mr Odinga’s plans to file a case at the Supreme Court.