Kenyan police have fired tear gas at huge crowds of mourners who had gathered at a stadium in the capital, Nairobi, to view the body of Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga after it had been flown from India where he died.
Several people were reportedly injured in the chaos as security officers sought to disperse the surging crowds.
Thousands of people carrying twigs and palm branches had earlier turned out to receive the body at the country’s main airport, in a public outpouring of grief that forced a brief halt to flights.
The authorities said mourners had gained access to restricted areas, prompting a “precautionary closure” that lasted about two hours.
Because of the unexpectedly large crowds, the public viewing ceremony for his body was moved to Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, rather than inside the parliament building where it was earlier scheduled to take place.
From the airport, thousands of people moved in a procession to escort the vehicle carrying the body to the stadium, about 10km (six miles) from the city centre.
It arrived to a packed stadium with more people outside.
After a huge crowd breached a gate in the stadium, the police fired tear gas, dispersing the mourners.
At least three people were visibly injured, the AFP news agency reported.
Huge crowds had earlier gathered at Lee Funeral Home where the body was first expected, and around parliament.
“I came here at six in the morning. We have been at the airport to welcome Baba [Odinga’s nickname],” one mourner had told the BBC near the airport.
“We are sad, we have been left as orphans. He is our father.”
Motorcycle rider William Otieno Adoyo said he was a “Baba die-hard”.
“We want to see Baba, how do we know it’s him in the casket? Let them show us and we’ll be contented,” he told the BBC.
The state funeral will be held at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Friday and on Saturday his body will be transported to Kisumu, a city in western Kenya on the shores of Lake Victoria – his political stronghold.
Members of the public will get a chance to view the body before he is buried on Sunday at his farm in Bondo, about 60km west of Kisumu.
According to the family, it was Odinga’s wish to be laid to rest within the shortest time possible, ideally within 72 hours.
The 80-year-old former prime minister collapsed during a morning walk in India on Wednesday morning and he was taken to Devamatha Hospital, about 50km (30 miles) east of the port city of Kochi.
A seven-day period of mourning has been declared. Odinga would also be accorded a state funeral with full military honours, Ruto said.
He was towering figure in Kenyan politics and for many years was the country’s main opposition leader, losing five presidential campaigns, most recently three years ago.
