How Kindiki-Oburu-led committee averted chaos at Raila funeral

The Star has established that the funeral committee kept monitoring every step and revising schedules, at times deflecting attention, to achieve the decent sendoff the ex-PM was accorded.

It is emerging that some quick actions were also taken once assessments gave indications of potential flare-ups and how the team that went to pick the body was facilitated.

On learning of the death, the government called Indian authorities and negotiated a special entry for the entourage that flew to Mumbai, which was led by Musalia Mudavadi.

There were neither visas nor tickets issued to the team that flew out of the country, save for passports, which were only for the preparation of the passenger manifest.

This was besides the calls that saw PM Narendra Modi provide air travel that lifted the body from Devamatha hospital to Mumbai airport for onward repatriation to Nairobi.

The Deputy President Kithure Kindiki-led committee kept revising the schedules after monitoring the events as they played out.

After the chaos witnessed at JKIA, where Raila’s supporters were demanding to view the body as soon as it landed, it became clear that the body was the centre of focus.

As such, the committee resolved to use every available opportunity for Kenyans to view the body, a move they believe dealt with disaffection among supporters.

Initially, the body was to be taken to Lee Funeral Home for embalmment for two hours, after which it was to be taken to Parliament Buildings to lie in state, and for public viewing.

But that would change after crowds surged and blocked the convoy from JKIA. It was decided that Homa Bay county chief Gladys Wanga would talk to the curious supporters.

On realising the impracticality of the timings, Lee Funeral Home staffers were dispatched to Kasarani Stadium, and they embalmed the body in a room next to the presidential pavilion.

It was at this time that the coffin was changed, and that which the body had come with from India was dumped.

The new one was a special lead-lined casket, said to last decades or centuries, and can keep the body from decomposing for years.

While at Kasarani, a decision was made to shift the location to a parking lot since the pavilion proved difficult to accommodate the swelling numbers.

This went on until 8pm, when it was adjudged that the public had had enough and the body was moved to Lee, where the embalming continued.

On Thursday night, the committee decided to fix an hour for Raila to lie in state in Parliament, the former PM having been MP.

It is said that the teams argued it would have looked bad had the ODM leader not been taken to Parliament, yet he represented Lang'ata for 20 years.

A call was thus made to Speaker Moses Wetang'ula and his team to make arrangements, hence the reason the funeral service was delayed for an hour.

At Nyayo Stadium, it was again resolved that the body be left to stay for public viewing for endless hours, before it was taken to his Karen home.

To avert crowding in Karen, ODM issued a statement indicating that the body would not be taken to Kerarapon Drive.

“We feared that the crowds would overwhelm the home and the neighbourhood. The ODM statement did the trick, and Raila had a peaceful stay at his home,” an insider told the Star on Wednesday.

Then came the Kisumu and Bondo programmes, which were also not without intrigues.

The committee had contemplated a funeral service akin to that which was done at Nyayo Stadium for Kisumu, for Nyanza politicians to give their tributes.

That was also dropped after it emerged that factional wars could play out, pitting the camps of ex-Kisumu Central MP Fred Ouda, his counterpart Ken Obura and Senator Tom Ojienda.

There was also pressure from evangelical bishops based in Kisumu, led by Bishop Winnie Owiti, Bishop Ogonyo Ngede and the Legio Maria.

It was then decided that only Bishop Zacchaeus Okoth (former Archbishop of Kisumu Catholic Diocese) would give a word of prayer, and then members of the public would be allowed to view the body.

Then came the quagmire of moving the body to Bondo. Initially, the plan was to go by road, but that was also revised.

Intelligence reports showed there were crowds waiting at the various town centres along the route, also to do their bidding for public viewing.

Groups had been gathering at the market centres with candles lit along the road, and it was feared the entourage would drag on for hours.

It was decided that the body be airlifted to Bondo, and that is how residents got a chance for the public viewing at Raila’s Opoda Farm.

The body stayed overnight, to the full of every curious mourner, before it was again flown to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University for the funeral service, where no further viewing was allowed.

“That is why the service at Bondo and Kisumu had no instances of chaos. People had enough time, to an extent, some viewed the body several times,” the source said.

At the service, there was also a tough balancing act on how to deal with the long list of speakers who had requested the committee for a chance to pay their tributes.

Here, the committee co-chaired by Oburu Oginga resolved that only family members, key ODM officials, House leaders, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo would speak.

They would still get pressed for time, and indeed, at some point, the Deputy President had to stand at the podium to manage the time speakers took.

“Had we allowed all the dignitaries and political figures who sought to speak, Raila would have been buried past 8pm.”

It is emerging that President William Ruto was apprised of every move, right from the journey to India all the way to the burial, and provided a great deal of advice, including directives restraining police from using force on mourners.

Because of time constraints amid Raila’s 72-hour notice in the will, it was resolved that more activities be planned for after the burial.

Among them was the move to award the departed former Prime Minister the title of Chief of Golden Heart—the country’s highest honour, posthumously.

There is a planned Raila Legacy commemoration festival to “honour his life, vision, and enduring legacy”.

A poster on the event seen by the Star shows it’ll be held at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, on October 31 from 10am to dawn.

The festival will bring together leaders, artists and citizens from all walks of life to celebrate the values he stood for–unity, peace, democracy and freedom.

 INSTANT ANALYSIS

The committee's primary success was proactively managing crowds by allowing extensive public viewing, thereby diffusing tension. Every detail, from the airlift to Bondo to the strictly curated speaker list, was a calculated move to honour a towering figure while preserving public order, all under the watchful guidance of the highest government levels.