Mourners killed by Kenya police at ex-PM's national farewell not part of violence, BBC finds

Three mourners killed when Kenyan police opened fire at a national farewell for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga were not involved in a clash that sparked gunfire, a BBC Africa Eye investigation has found.

During an event held last October for people to pay their respects to Odinga, three people were shot dead after mourners attempted to gain access to the VIP section of Nairobi's Kasarani Stadium by force.

BBC analysis from inside the stadium shows the victims were each between at least 60m (197 ft) and 160m from the scuffles.

Kenya's Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen told the BBC that the police action had been "restrained" after the crowd starting throwing stones.

In footage analysed by the BBC, it is clear that objects, including plastic chairs, are thrown, but we have no evidence that they included stones.

The BBC went through more than 1,500 images and videos to establish the location of those killed in the stadium on 16 October 2025, and also spoke to some of their relatives.

Forensic analysis by the BBC suggests an elite police unit responsible for protecting the president may have fired the fatal shots.

Kenya's longest serving opposition leader and former prime minister died the previous day while receiving medical treatment in India. He was one of the country's most influential political figures.

A year on, Kenya's police watchdog, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), is still investigating the deaths and police response and no-one has been held to account.

The interior minister defended the police by saying they had been under "so much pressure" after working for many hours non-stop and had been deployed to a new venue at the last minute.

"The investigations are being done by an independent police oversight authority, we believe that their findings will help us take appropriate legal action," Murkomen said.

Responding to questions about the conduct of police he said: "I don't think… somebody [was] sitting there and saying: 'Shoot now'. It is the judgment of the police officer at the spur of the moment."

Yvonne Akinyi, who husband was among those killed told the BBC: "The people who we look at to protect us, these are the people that cause us this pain. These are the people that make us to become young widows in this country, young orphans in this county," she said.

Odinga's death at 80 prompted an outpouring of grief across Kenya. Thousands gathered at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as his body was flown home.

The body had originally been due to lie in state at parliament, but the scale of the crowds and fears of a security breach forced a last-minute change of venue to Kasarani Stadium. Officials say they had little time to secure the 48,000-capacity venue, and thousands spilled onto the pitch and into the stands unchecked.

After several hours of waiting to see the coffin in 30C heat with no public address system for official updates, a small section of the crowd began throwing objects, including plastic chairs, at officers guarding the VIP pavilion. Police fired live rounds as mourners pushed toward the pavilion. Footage from elsewhere in the stadium shows the crowd remained largely peaceful.

In total, three people were killed.

One of them was Evans Kiche, a 40 year-old-chef and father to seven children. BBC analysis shows he was around 60m from the confrontation when he was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.

The two other mourners killed, Vincent Ogutu and Jidah Burka, were at least 160m away, in the opposite stands, far removed from the pavilion.

Autopsy reports confirm that Ogutu died from a gunshot wound to the chest and 42 year-old Burka was fatally shot in the head.

Piecing together a timeline of events, BBC Africa Eye identified at least eight police officers operating together, wearing tactical clothing and military camouflage. These officers carry assault rifles, with no visible insignia and faces covered.

Their uniforms and movements are consistent with a layer of security assigned to President William Ruto and other VIPs before and after the shooting. At least three officers of this unit appear to fire their weapons.

The BBC identified three of themas part of an elite police unit responsible for presidential protection.

The BBC cannot establish which bullets killed each victim, and cannot rule out other officers firing inside the stadium.

Kenya's National Police Service told the BBC: "There are huge lessons picked from the day's events," which had "formed a fundamental learning curve for a better, more professional application in the future." The IPOA did not respond to a request for comment.

Ogutu, a 36-year-old father of three, hadn't planned to go to Kasarani, his wife told the BBC. He was in central Nairobi on the morning of 16 October with friends when they saw the crowds heading to the stadium and decided to join.

Within hours, he was dead.

His widow Yvonne Akinyi described how the killing upended their family, saying their children were now orphans.

As she prepares to mark a year since her husband's death, Akinyi is no closer to understanding why he died while paying his respects at an event organised by the government.

"I will just try to be that strong woman. Very strong. But deep inside there is a hole," she said.

"It is very painful because sometimes you just sit down and ask yourself. At Kasarani there were so many people, so many of them. Why him."

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica