Siaya Governor James Orengo has announced that a separate public viewing point has been set up across from former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Opoda farm to allow Siaya and Bondo residents to pay their respects.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, October 18, 2025, the governor explained that after the body leaves Kisumu following public viewing, it will first arrive at Raila Odinga’s home in Opoda, where only family members will be allowed to view it.

Subsequently, the body will be placed across from the home at a designated location for the public to view.

Orengo emphasised that while the body at the home will be reserved for close relatives, the viewing point across the residence ensures that the local community in Bondo and Siaya can also honour the late leader.

“Other close relatives. Otherwise, there’s a place which has been set aside just across where members of the public and the community in Bondo and Siaya will be able to view the body of our departed leader, right? Bolo Dinga, I continue to say that this has hit us hard,” Orengo said.

The announcement comes amid last-minute logistical changes, including the decision to airlift Raila’s body from Kisumu Airport to Mamboleo Stadium instead of transporting it by road in a gun carrier as initially planned.

Grave digging

In Bondo, at Kang’o ka Jaramogi in Nyamira Village, where Raila Odinga will be laid to rest, grave construction is in full swing under the supervision of National Construction Authority CEO Maurice Aketch.

“We are very well on course, and the progress is very good since yesterday, of course, as you can see. Yesterday evening, we were preparing the floor down there. Now we’ve lifted the walling, and we are now in the final stages of putting the finishes on the floor and the walls, and then we’ll be done so that we are ready for tomorrow,” he added.

The body will also be taken to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) for the memorial service before proceeding to the burial site, ensuring both family and the public have an opportunity to honour the former Prime Minister.