President William Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Thursday morning, October 16, 2025, to receive the body of the late Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, who passed away while undergoing treatment in India.
The atmosphere at the airport was sombre yet charged with emotion as thousands of Kenyans, government officials, and ODM supporters gathered to pay their respects to one of the country’s most iconic political figures.
The aircraft carrying Raila’s body touched down at 9:30 a.m., marking the beginning of a period of national mourning for a man widely regarded as the “People’s Leader.”
This comes after the Kenyan delegation led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Cabinet Secretaries Kipchumba Murkomen and Hassan Joho, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, and Minority Leader Junet Mohammed, as well as members of the Odinga family, including Jaoko Oburu Odinga, Kevin Opiyo Odinga, and Mama Ida Odinga, received the former prime ministers remains for repatriation.
In a statement on Thursday morning, October 16, 2025, Mudavadi revealed that all arrangements for the return of the former Prime Minister’s body have been finalised.
“We have secured his body and preparations are complete for his return home,” the statement read.
The flight
The Kenya Airways flight, tasked with taking the Kenyan delegation to Mumbai, India, to arrange the repatriation of Raila’s remains, became the most tracked flight in the world.
According to the Flightradar24 data that was shared by KQ via social media moments after the plane landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai, the flight was followed by over 7,080 people online.
The national carrier confirmed in a brief statement in the wee hours of Thursday, October 16, 2025, that the aircraft had landed in Mumbai, where the body of Kenya’s former Prime Minister and iconic statesman was prepared for return to Nairobi.
“The most tracked flight. KQ 202 to Mumbai, ready to bring home Baba, Raila Odinga,” a brief caption accompanying an image with Flightradar24 data read.
Over 7,000 users simultaneously monitored KQ202’s trajectory, a rare display of global attention usually reserved for heads of state or historic events.
