Nairobi, October 16, 2025 — The High Court in Nairobi has declined to grant conservatory orders sought by a petitioner challenging the planned burial of the late Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga within 72 hours of his death.
The petition, filed under case number HCCHRPET/E666/2025 before Hon. Justice E.C. Mwita, was brought by Michael Onyango Otieno, a senior member of the Luo community, who argued that the expedited burial timetable announced by the State violates the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, and disregards the Luo customary practices to which the late statesman was a devoted adherent.
The Petition
In his 48-page constitutional petition filed through Nyarega & Company Advocates, Otieno listed 14 respondents, including the Attorney General, the National Committee on the State Funeral, the Cabinet Secretaries for Interior, Defence, and Transport, the Inspector General of Police, the Kenya Airports Authority, Lee Funeral Home, the Anglican Church of Kenya, and the Family of the late Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga.
He also enjoined the Luo Council of Elders as an interested party.
Relying on Articles 2, 3, 10, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 32, 36, 44, and 258 of the Constitution, the petitioner argued that the decision by the National Committee to inter the former Prime Minister within 72 hours of his death contravenes Article 44, which protects the right of every person to participate in their cultural life and practice their traditions.
Otieno asserted that Raila Odinga, crowned a Luo warrior in 2020 by the Luo Council of Elders, was a firm adherent of the community’s burial customs — customs that prescribe elaborate mourning rituals such as tero buru (the cleansing and mourning ceremony), before interment.
He contended that the 72-hour schedule — announced by the Deputy President and Committee co-chair Prof. Kithure Kindiki — denied the Luo people and the wider Kenyan public the opportunity to give Raila Odinga a culturally befitting send-off.
“The rushed burial plan undermines not only our culture but the dignity of a man whose life was deeply intertwined with Luo traditions,” the petition read in part, adding that the deceased’s alleged wish to be buried within three days “has not been corroborated by any witnesses.”
The petitioner therefore sought, among other orders:
A declaration that the 72-hour burial plan is unconstitutional;
A declaration that it violates Article 44 of the Constitution; and
That the burial be restrained pending full cultural consultations.
The Court’s Ruling
In his brief ruling delivered on October 16, 2025, Justice Mwita declined to issue conservatory orders halting the burial plans, ruling that the matter had not met the threshold for urgency.
“I am not satisfied on the urgency of this matter,” read the order. “The applicant has not demonstrated that the process is being undertaken contrary to the wishes of the deceased to enable this court act on the request for conservatory orders.”
Justice Mwita directed that the pleadings be served on all respondents immediately and that the matter be mentioned on October 23, 2025 for further directions.
He further warned that any disobedience or non-observance of court orders would attract penal consequences.
Context: A Nation in Mourning
The petition was filed just hours after President William Ruto announced a seven-day period of national mourning following Raila Odinga’s death in India. The President also declared that the opposition leader would be accorded full state honors, with a state funeral to be held at Nyayo Stadium, and burial scheduled for Sunday, October 19, 2025, at his Bondo home in Siaya County.
The State Funeral Committee, co-chaired by Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki and the late Odinga’s elder brother Dr. Oburu Odinga, had unveiled an elaborate schedule that includes public viewings in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Bondo before the final interment.
However, the Luo Council of Elders and sections of the community have expressed discomfort over the speed of the arrangements, insisting that Raila Odinga — a towering figure in both national and cultural life — deserves a traditional farewell befitting a man of his stature.
With the High Court declining to halt the burial plans, preparations for the State Funeral continue under tight security and heavy public interest. The petition will be heard substantively after all parties have been served ahead of the October 23 mention date.
Whether the court will ultimately uphold the petitioner’s claim of cultural rights infringement or side with the State’s assertion of national protocol and urgency, remains to be seen.
For now, Kenya stands at a delicate intersection — between constitutional rights, cultural identity, and state ceremonial tradition — as it bids farewell to one of its most consequential sons.
#FareTheeWellBaba #RailaOdinga #MilimaniHighCourt #StateFuneral
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