[PHOTOS] Baba has left us orphans - Kisumu residents mourn Raila

Along the main roads, people held twigs, candles and portraits of Raila, their tears flowing freely.

by SHARON MWENDE

News15 October 2025 - 11:40

In Summary

From midmorning, men, women and children poured into the streets, their voices uniting in sorrowful chants of “Baba! Jowi!” that echoed through Kondele, Oginga Odinga Street, Nyalenda and Manyatta.
Residents from neighbouring sub-counties streamed into the city to join others in mourning the man they fondly called Baba.

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***Kisumu residents gather to mourn former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on October 15, 2025/FAITH MATETE***

Kisumu was engulfed in grief on Wednesday as the news of Raila Amollo Odinga’s death sent shockwaves across the lakeside city.

From midmorning, men, women, and children poured into the streets, their voices uniting in sorrowful chants of “Baba! Jowi!” that echoed through Kondele, Oginga Odinga Street, Nyalenda, and Manyatta.

Residents from neighbouring sub-counties streamed into the city to join others in mourning the man they fondly called Baba.

Shops closed early, matatus blared mournful Luo tunes, and boda boda riders waved black flags as they snaked through the streets, adding to the sea of mourners.

Along the main roads, people held twigs, candles, and portraits of Raila, their tears flowing freely.

“Baba has left us orphans… where will we go now?” cried one elderly woman, clutching her chest as others nodded in shared pain.

Crowds formed at every corner, some breaking into dirges, others kneeling on the tarmac in disbelief.

The air was thick with grief, heavy with sobs, chants, and the deep ache of a city mourning its greatest son.

Raila died on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 9:52 am, Indian time, after suffering from a cardiac arrest.