AFRICA
2 min read
Kenya president says won't fly national flag on motorcade until Odinga's burial
Kenya's President William Ruto has announced that he and other senior government officials will not fly the country's flag on their official cars until after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's burial.
Kenya president says won't fly national flag on motorcade until Odinga's burial
Kenya's President William Ruto has described the late Raila Odinga as a statesman. / Photo: Reuters
4 hours ago

Kenya's President William Ruto has announced that he and other senior government officials will not fly the country's flag on their official cars until after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's burial.

This is part of the national mourning that President Ruto declared on Wednesday following Odinga's death during treatment at a hospital in southern India.

"In honour of the life and times of the former prime minister, I hereby order and direct that the president, the deputy president, the prime cabinet secretary, the speaker of the national assembly, the speaker of the senate, Kenya's diplomats abroad, and whomsoever else is authorised by law, shall not fly the national flag on their official motor vehicles from today (October 15) until sunset on the day of his interment," President Ruto said in a presidential proclamation.

The Kenyan flag will also be flown at half-mast within the country's territory and its diplomatic missions abroad throughout that period.

State funeral

Ruto added that Odinga will be "accorded a state funeral, with military honours and the attendant state protocols being rendered and observed."

The president further announced that the mourning period, which had initially been declared for seven days, has been extended from October 15 until "sunset of the day of Odinga's interment."

"Kenya is undoubtedly a much better place today because of the struggles, sacrifice, leadership, vision, and courage of a son of the soil, who never tired in the pursuit of a better Kenya," Ruto said.

Earlier in the day, the head of state announced that a government delegation, led by Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi, will fly to India to accompany Odinga's remains back to Kenya.

Dies aged 80

Odinga, who served as Kenya's prime minister from 2008 to 2013, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 80.

He is survived by his spouse, Ida Odinga, three children, and grandchildren.

SOURCE:TRT Afrika