More than a dozen injured in stampede at Raila Odinga's State funeral

Seventeen mourners were being treated for injuries on Friday after a stampede at the state funeral of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, a source at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi told Reuters, with thousands attending the tribute.

Odinga commanded a passionate following in the East African nation and his memorial ceremonies have attracted huge crowds. Three people were shot dead by security forces a day earlier when mourners breached a gate of the stadium hosting a public viewing of his body.

Odinga, a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday, aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.

As the state funeral got under way in a Nairobi stadium on Friday, some members of the crowd surged forward to view Odinga's body, crushing mourners in the melee, Kenyan broadcaster NTV reported, without providing further details.

A spokesperson at Kenya Red Cross confirmed that a stampede had taken place.

"Our teams are there helping to provide treatment and evacuate the injured," the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that further details were not immediately available.

Kenyan authorities had deployed heavy security on Friday, with police keeping crowds at a distance, footage from local television and President William Ruto's office showed.

Thousands of mourners waved white handkerchiefs and danced at the venue which was bedecked with large banners with Odinga's portrait. Others blew whistles and vuvuzelas in honour of the man they referred to as "Baba" ("Father" in Swahili).

As dignitaries left the venue, mourners were invited to a public viewing of the body, when the stampede occurred.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets to mourn and celebrate Odinga from early Thursday, with mourners storming the country's main airport when the plane carrying his body arrived and prompting a two-hour suspension of flight operations.

Odinga's body will be taken for burial on Sunday in his homestead in western Kenya, where he commanded particularly deep devotion among members of his Luo tribe, many of whom believe he was cheated of the presidency by electoral fraud.

Though mainly known as an opposition figure, Odinga became prime minister in 2008 and also struck a political pact with former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018, and with Ruto last year in a career of shifting alliances.