A chilling video surfaced on social media on Thursday, purportedly showing Kenyan forces opening fire to disperse the crowd at former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's funeral.
In the 33-second video, tens of people were seen running amok as several shots were fired at the event. Mint could not verify the authenticity of the video being circulated widely on social media.
According to local media reports, four people were killed in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Thursday after security forces fired shots and teargas to disperse huge crowds at a stadium where the body of deceased opposition leader Raila Odinga was lying in state.
‘Chaos erupted when…’
With thousands of the former PM's supporters on the streets from early morning, chaos erupted when a huge crowd breached a gate of Nairobi's main stadium, prompting soldiers to fire in the air, a Reuters witness said.
A police source told Reuters that two people were shot dead at the stadium. KTN News and Citizen TV later said the death toll had increased to four, with scores of people injured.
After security forces fired shots, police lobbed tear gas to disperse thousands of mourners, the two broadcasters showed, leaving the stadium deserted.
Earlier in the day, thousands of mourners briefly stormed Nairobi's international airport, interrupting a ceremony for President William Ruto and other officials to receive Odinga's body with military honours.
That prompted a two-hour suspension of airport operations.
Crowds also flooded nearby roads and tried to breach parliament, where the government had originally scheduled the public viewing.
Raila Odinga dies at 80
Odinga, a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics, died on Wednesday in Kerala, India. He was 80. He was reportedly receiving medical treatment in Kerala.
Though mainly known as an opposition figure, Odinga became prime minister in 2008 and also struck a political pact with Ruto last year in a career of shifting alliances.
He commanded passionate devotion among supporters, especially in his Luo tribe based in western Kenya. Many of these supporters believe he was cheated of the presidency by electoral fraud.
Odinga's mourners, many of whom were not yet born in 1991 when Kenya became a multi-party democracy, paid tribute to Odinga's efforts as an activist.
“He fought tirelessly for multi-party democracy, and we are enjoying those freedoms today because of his struggle,” university student Felix Ambani Uneck told Reuters at the stadium where thousands had gone on foot and motorbikes.
(With inputs from Reuters)
