RAO001: Inside the dangerously dramatic 7 hours after Raila's body touched down at JKIA

As Raila Odinga's body neared the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), aboard the RAO001, there were already signs of major upheavals as thousands surged and thronged, pouring into the airport in their overwhelming numbers as the police looked on, helplessly.

As early as 6am, thousands of grief-stricken mourners had already started gathering at the airport, some arriving by foot, others on hooting motorbikes and some cramming into buses before they were offloaded around the airport's gates.

It was the perfect setting for what would quickly turn into a tumultuous ball of unimaginable chaos as Raila's body touched down.

With reckless abandon, they scattered across all sections of the international airport - some poured onto the runway, others prostrated on the taxiways, thousands packed the terminals and motorbikes, in their thundering engines, littered entire pathways.

Soon as the aircraft landed, more madness unfurled. Without warning or fleeting restraint, crowds clawed their way up the plane - TV cameras captured hundreds climbing up the fuselage, others clinging onto the tail, some hanging by the wings and others maddeningly forcing their way up the stairs.

As the recklessness abounded, police watched in horror, unable to contain the rampage as the numbers continued to dangerously swell.

After all, this was not just any day - this was the day the body of Kenya's most profoundly impactful politician was making its way back home after an overnight flight from India.

Alarmed by the sudden influx of masses, and the ensuing frenzy, authorities quickly decided to change the venue of the viewing of Raila Odinga's body from Parliament to a much larger arena; the iconic 30,000-seater Kasarani Stadium.

Undeterred, the crowds, which had now swelled to thousands upon thousands, took over the streets of Nairobi's CBD as they thunderously snaked their way down Thika Road, chanting, singing, wailing, howling and yowling.

Some sprawled themselves along the tarmac, others clung onto buses, some tore apart their t-shirts and almost all waved fresh twigs, broken, crushed and helplessly shattered.

However, by haphazardly deciding to move the body-viewing venue to Kasarani, the government apparatus had not made prior preparations to cater to the mammoth crowd - no sitting plans, no crowd control measures, inadequate manning of gate access and no protocols laid down.

At Kasarani, it quickly turned into a smorgasbord of havoc and utter mayhem as everyone did as they pleased - crowds poured in aimlessly, police watched in stunned stares, many jumped over barricades and soon, chairs, objects and sticks started flying towards the VIP dais.

The atmosphere had reached a dangerous crescendo as everyone seemed to only heed to themselves, disregarding all order, following no rules, adhering to no commands and turning the stadium into a buffet of anarchy and nihilistic pandemonium.

At some point, some strange men, dressed in dark suits, could be seen whipping their way through a crowd, as they shoved and elbowed everyone out of the way and even ambushed a TV cameraperson, dramatically ordering him to shut down his equipment. 

Overwhelmed, police started firing tear gas into the crowds and some trigger-happy cops also fired live ammunition, turning an already perilous situation into a bloody battleground.

Exasperated, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen could be seen gesturing at the police, perhaps asking them to stop firing into the crowd - and then, visibly irritated, he could be seen storming towards the direction of the madness.

Soon enough, it was already clear that there was no possible way anyone would be allowed to presently view Raila Odinga's body - at least not with the prevailing climate of madness and feral mobocracy.

It was only after calm had returned, and VIPs led by President William Ruto and Raila’s widow Ida Odinga had viewed the body, that the members of the public were allowed back inside to also pay their last respects.

In light of the developments in Nairobi, Raila’s funeral committee also decided to change the Kisumu venue of the body viewing from the Moi stadium to the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Mamboleo.

Speaking after touring the grounds, Kisumu County Commissioner Benson Leparmorijo said the decision was arrived at following consultations within the organising committee led by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.