Kisumu residents were thrown into mourning on Wednesday as news of Raila Amollo Odinga’s death sent shockwaves across the lakeside city.
From midmorning, residents poured into the streets; men, women, and children — their voices rising in sorrowful chants of “Baba! Jowi!” that echoed through Kondele, Oginga Odinga Street, Nyalenda, and Manyatta.
Locals from the subcounties came to the lakeside city to join others in mourning Raila.
Some shops closed early, matatus blared mournful Luo tunes, and boda boda riders waved black flags as they joined the sea of mourners.
Along the main roads, people carried twigs, portraits of Raila, and candles, their tears flowing freely.
“Baba has left us as orphans… where will we go now?” one elderly woman cried, clutching her chest as others nodded in shared pain.
Crowds gathered at every corner, some breaking into dirges, others kneeling on the tarmac in disbelief.
The air was heavy, filled with sobs, chants, and the deep ache of a city mourning its greatest son.
In Kisumu, Raila was not just a leader; he was family, a father, a voice for the voiceless.
The chants of “Baba Jowi!” continued as a raw, heartbreaking farewell to a man whose name was etched in every soul.
