Nairobi Senator and ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna has expressed deep disappointment over the government’s handling of the late Raila Odinga’s funeral, describing key moments as chaotic and avoidable.
Speaking in an interview on Citizen TV on Tuesday night, Sifuna recalled the difficulties faced by mourners and party officials when the former Prime Minister’s body arrived from Mumbai.
“Nothing prepared anyone for the death of Raila. There are no protocols to mourn a man of Raila’s stature. It hit everybody hard,” Sifuna said.
He described his own experience traveling to Mumbai as overwhelming, noting the disarray that accompanied the repatriation of Raila’s body.
“I feel that the state mismanaged the arrival of the body of Raila Odinga. At the airport, I feel that if there were a public address system and the leadership of the party were there to calm the people down, the situation could have been better,” he added.
Sifuna’s remarks highlighted the tragic consequences of the mismanagement, particularly the deaths in Kasarani.
“The deaths in Kasarani broke my heart because they were very avoidable,” he said, pointing to crowd control failures during the funeral proceedings.
The senator also recounted the emotional toll the loss took on him personally.
“The overwhelming emotion for me when Baba died was anger. I remember getting on the flight to Mumbai and when I looked around, I couldn’t see enough of Raila’s friends,” Sifuna said.
He expressed regret over certain ceremonial omissions, including the lack of a police escort and the denial of draping Raila’s casket in party colors—a practice he and Raila had observed for other deceased members of ODM.
“For Raila, these simple gestures of respect and party recognition were denied in his lifetime. That, for me, was painful,” he said.