Chaos as thousands overwhelm police at JKIA, Parliament as Raila's body returns

As the body of Mr Odinga left Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, headed for Lee Funeral Home and later Parliament, where he was to lie in state, thousands showed up at Parliament, and that is when trouble started.

It was quickly made clear that Parliament was not big enough to accommodate the thousands of mourners who started scaling the perimeter walls and the gate.

Live footage showed people gathered at the gates, holding tree branches, wailing, and crying to express their pain and frustration over this tragic national loss. Raila died on Wednesday, October 15, in the Indian city of Kochi, where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed condition.

Chants of “JOWI,” a Luo term that is used to signify strength and readiness to combat anything.

Weary of spooking the charged crowd, politicians were called upon to calm the masses, who looked ready to breach and enter the Parliament buildings for a chance to be the first to view the body of Mr Odinga.

The situation, which threatened to get out of hand, forced the government to move the viewing of Mr Odinga's body to Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

“We have realised Parliament is too small for Baba. Baba is too big,” Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi said.

“We have decided that now we have to move this process to Kasarani to allow millions of Kenyans who want to view Baba’s body to do it in a day."

After attempts by Otiende Amolo, Gladys Sholei, Millie Odhiambo and other leaders to calm the crowds failed, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino scaled the gate pillars and tried to address them from there.

After a while, he got down, and it was the turn of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who also scaled a wall, grabbed a megaphone and asked the mourners to be patient.

Babu and Sifuna may have succeeded in calming the crowd, albeit temporarily, but it ensured that they did not jump inside the heavily fortified Parliament precincts.

Earlier, crowds had overpowered and overrun security at JKIA when the plane carrying Raila's remains touched down from India.

This prompted the temporary closure of operations at JKIA over security concerns.