By Vincent Mumo and Giulia Paravicini
NAIROBI (Reuters) -Two people were killed and more than 160 others were injured in a stampede at the state funeral of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi on Friday, aid group Doctors Without Borders said.
The funeral for Odinga, who commanded a passionate following in the East African nation, drew huge crowds to Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium and heavy security was in place.
During the ceremony, some members of the crowd surged forward to view Odinga’s body, crushing mourners, Kenyan broadcaster NTV reported, without providing further details.
“Our teams are there helping to provide treatment and evacuate the injured,” a Kenya Red Cross spokesperson told Reuters, adding that further details were not immediately available. The police did not immediately answer calls.
In a statement, Doctors Without Borders said two people were killed in the melee and more than 160 others were injured. It was not immediately clear if all the injuries – which included blunt trauma and fractures – were linked to the stampede.
The fatalities followed three deaths on Thursday when security forces fired shots at mourners who breached a gate at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi during a public viewing of Odinga’s body.
The former political prisoner was a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics and ran unsuccessfully for president five times. He died aged 80 on Wednesday in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.
At Friday’s service, thousands of mourners waved white handkerchiefs and danced under large banners with Odinga’s portrait. Others blew whistles and vuvuzelas in honour of the man they referred to as “Baba,” or father in Swahili.
Kenya President William Ruto attended Friday’s service which included military honors.
People have taken to the streets to pay their respects and celebrate Odinga since early Thursday, with mourners storming the country’s main airport when the plane carrying his body arrived. That prompted a two-hour suspension of flights.
Odinga’s body will be taken for burial on Sunday in his homestead in western Kenya, where he commanded particularly deep devotion among members of his Luo tribe, many of whom believe he was cheated of the presidency by electoral fraud.
Though mainly known as an opposition figure, Odinga became prime minister in 2008 and also struck a political pact with former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018, and with Ruto last year in a career of shifting alliances.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa, Vincent Mumo, Giulia Paravicini and Ammu Kannampilly; editing by Toby Chopra and Cynthia Osterman)
