News
Oburu Explains Why Raila Had Two Coffins and His Body Prepared in Kasarani, Not Lee Funeral Home
Attempts to ask mourners to allow time for body preparation were met with resistance, forcing the family and funeral directors to adjust their plans.
Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga has disclosed that the late Raila Odinga’s body was prepared for public viewing at Kasarani Stadium instead of Lee Funeral Home due to overwhelming crowds and logistical constraints at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Speaking in an interview on Sunday, November 2, Oburu confirmed that the difference between the coffin that arrived from India and the one used during the Kasarani ceremony was intentional.
Oburu Oginga addresses journalists in Nairobi on Friday, October 17, 2025.
The initial coffin, he said, was only meant for transport and not for presentation during public viewing.
“In India, bodies are normally cremated and not buried. The boxes they use for transporting remains are not ideal for viewing or burial,” Oburu explained. “We had planned to take a short time at Lee Funeral Home or at the airport to prepare the body, but the large crowd made it impossible.”
He recounted that when Raila’s body arrived at JKIA, a massive crowd had gathered, making it difficult for the family to proceed with the planned transfer.
Attempts to ask mourners to allow time for body preparation were met with resistance, forcing the family and funeral directors to adjust their plans.
“Someone thought that if I addressed the people, they would listen, but when I spoke, they rejected the idea. The crowd was too emotional. We then decided to move everything to Kasarani,” Oburu said.
The late Prime Minister Raila Amollo Odinga’s supporters at JKIA on October 16, 2025.
Once at Kasarani, the family, accompanied by funeral directors from Lee Funeral Home, dressed and prepared the body in a controlled section of the stadium before public viewing began.
“You saw some teargas at the stadium. That was to clear the way for the body to be changed from the transport casket into the presentation one. The Lee Funeral team did the final preparations at Kasarani,” Oburu stated.
He maintained that the presence of two coffins was not a sign of confusion or secrecy but a practical response to unique circumstances surrounding the repatriation and national mourning of the late former Prime Minister.
The late Raila Odinga during a past function. PHOTO/@RailaOdinga/X
Kenya Insights allows guest blogging, if you want to be published on Kenya’s most authoritative and accurate blog, have an expose, news TIPS, story angles, human interest stories, drop us an email on [email protected] or via Telegram
Treasury CS Mbadi Unveils Sh4.8 Trillion Budget Estimates
Fraud, Misrepresentation and A Decade Of Evasion: How Indo Africa Finance Pocketed Sh150 Million Youth Funds and Fought To Keep Every Cent
Kenya Picks Chinese Firm For Sh375 Billion JKIA Upgrade Project After Adani Fallout
The President’s Daughter and The Missing Witness: How Adut Salva Kiir’s Shadow Treasury Silenced Its Most Dangerous Critic
Kisii Under Siege: Governor Arati’s Wife Accused of Hijacking IFMIS and Running a Parallel Government
Al-Shabaab Issues Statement Defending Omar Artan, Accuses U.S. of Discrimination After Referee’s Deportation
Netanyahu To Run For Re-Election, His Party Says, After Trump Raises Doubts
US Cracks Down on Birth Tourism Schemes
Microsoft Limits Employee Use Of Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 Over Data Retention Concerns, The Verge Reports
Standard Chartered Ghosts Haunt Joshua Oigara At Stanbic As Whistleblower Spills Beans
Cement, Cash and Courts: How the Hashu Dynasty Crushed the Ramji Brothers for Fourteen Years and Why the Walls Are Now Closing In
Inside The Urban Planning Cartel That Owns Nairobi
Why Ruto’s Favourite Candidate Adan Mohammed Could Be Locked Out of the KRA Top Job
LifeCare on the Brink: SHA Fraud, Stolen Wages, and the Rotten Empire Jayesh Saini Built
Betika Faces DCI Probe, Directors Arrest and License Revocation Over Massive 29.5 Million Safaricom Customers’ Data Breach
Este Medical Kenya Fights American’s Explosive Complaints
Fresh Move Launched to Remove Kenya Railways MD Mainga From Office After Awarding Sh817 Million Consultancy Contract
The Rot Inside Absa: How Bank Insiders Are Looting Nairobi’s Customers
Inside FAFSA Fraud: How Kenyan Cybercriminals Siphoned Millions from America’s Sh12 Billion Student Loan System
Court Confirms Safaricom Customers Data Was Sold To Betting Companies In Seven-Year Cover-Up
-
Investigations7 days agoCement, Cash and Courts: How the Hashu Dynasty Crushed the Ramji Brothers for Fourteen Years and Why the Walls Are Now Closing In
-
Investigations5 days agoInside The Urban Planning Cartel That Owns Nairobi
-
Investigations1 week agoBetika Faces DCI Probe, Directors Arrest and License Revocation Over Massive 29.5 Million Safaricom Customers’ Data Breach
-
Investigations7 days agoFresh Move Launched to Remove Kenya Railways MD Mainga From Office After Awarding Sh817 Million Consultancy Contract
-
News2 weeks agoEight Students Arrested In Kenya After Suspected Deadly School Arson Attack
-
News2 weeks agoHow Uhuru’s Deal With Obama In 2015 Paved Way For America’s Ebola Plan In Kenya
-
Business1 week agoTRUST BETRAYED: How Senior DTB Bank Insiders Allegedly Looted Sh149 Million From a Customer’s Account Over Five Years
-
Business12 hours agoStandard Chartered Ghosts Haunt Joshua Oigara At Stanbic As Whistleblower Spills Beans