The National State Funeral Committee for the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, co-chaired by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga, announced a series of events to honor Odinga, with details of subsequent activities to be revealed after the interment rites. The final interment ceremony is scheduled to commence at 9 am and conclude shortly after noon, adhering to the traditions of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK).

The solemn ceremony will see Odinga’s body moved from his Opoda Farm home to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) grounds for a service lasting until 1 pm. This will be followed by the committal, final prayers, and military honors at the gravesite located at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo, Siaya County. President William Ruto is expected to attend this significant event.

The committee also extended gratitude to the tens of thousands of mourners, security professionals, and emergency personnel for maintaining order during the public viewing of Odinga’s body in Kisumu. Despite initial security concerns due to the immense crowds at Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium, a better collaboration between the public and security agencies, including the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), National Police Service (NPS), and National Youth Service, ensured a dignified process. Odinga’s body was later flown by military aircraft to his Opoda Farm residence for a night vigil, where it was received by his widow Ida, brother Oburu Oginga, children, associates, and other mourners.

The arrival of the former Prime Minister’s body in Bondo marked a final farewell steeped in traditional Luo culture. Widow Ida Odinga had earlier appealed to mourners for peaceful conduct, mindful of the presence of guests from across the globe. However, the emotional crowds often surged, displaying their sadness through drumming, crying, and singing dirges. Despite pleas for order, masses crowded the gate at Raila's homestead, eager to receive the man they had celebrated throughout the day.

In adherence to customary dictates, Odinga’s body arrived before sunset, a significant tradition for the Luos. While the family, led by Ida and Oburu Oginga, preferred a dignified send-off and initially planned for the body to be ushered through the main gate, the charging crowds necessitated a deviation. The body was instead taken to a viewing site before making its way into the homestead, as cultural norms dictate entry through the gate. Mourners, many climbing trees to catch a glimpse, hoisted branches and twigs—a deeply rooted Luo sign of respect for the departed, underscoring their belief in a dignified send-off for a unifier.

Raila Odinga will be laid to rest at his father’s homestead in Bondo, a practice permissible if willed by the deceased, even though he had his own home at Opoda Farm. The awaiting military honors signify a statesman’s burial, but more profoundly, to his Bondo supporters, it marks his internment as the most supreme Luo elder. Cultural practices preceding the burial included bulls trooping into his homestead, a tradition shared with the neighboring Luhya community, where neighbours bring supplies to support the grieving family. Elders from the Kalenjin community also brought 80 cows, highlighting Odinga's widespread stature.

Further cultural displays included mourners donning regalia of cow hides, waving fly whisks, and symbolically fighting off the spirit of death with spears. Jaduong' Odida Buoga, an elder from Sakwa, explained that an old man of Odinga's stature should be buried when the sun moves to the west and the wind blows from the lake, not in the morning. He also noted that the first cry for a morning death would traditionally be made around 4 pm. Buoga detailed the historical Tero Buru ceremony, where bulls are driven into the deceased's homestead and a procession alerts neighboring clans, culminating in a meal of roasted goat meat, contrasting it with the Anglican Church-introduced tribute sessions which he described as