# Police shot mourners far from the violence, BBC finds

> Investigation shows three people killed at Raila Odinga's funeral were nowhere near the scuffle that sparked gunfire.
- Title: Police shot mourners far from the violence, BBC finds
- Summary: Investigation shows three people killed at Raila Odinga's funeral were nowhere near the scuffle that sparked gunfire. BBC analysis found three mourners shot…
- Keywords: raila odinga, kenya police, kasarani stadium, shooting, nairobi, kipchumba murkomen, independent policing oversight authority, bbc africa eye, news, world, Police, shot
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c962y4ld1d7do
- Published: 2026-10-11T23:13:20.251+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: raila odinga, kenya police, kasarani stadium, shooting, nairobi, kipchumba murkomen, independent policing oversight authority, bbc africa eye, news, world
## Three mourners shot at Odinga funeral
Three people were killed when Kenyan police opened fire at a national farewell for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in October 2025.
## Victims were far from the violence
BBC analysis shows the three people shot dead were each between at least sixty metres and one hundred sixty metres from the scuffles. They were not involved in the clash that sparked gunfire.
## Evans Kiche, forty-year-old chef
Evans Kiche was a forty-year-old chef and father to seven children. BBC analysis shows he was around sixty metres from the confrontation when he was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.
## Two more victims in opposite stands
Vincent Ogutu and Jidah Burka were at least one hundred sixty metres away in the opposite stands, far removed from the pavilion.
## Elite unit may have fired fatal shots
BBC analysis identified at least eight police officers wearing tactical clothing and military camouflage with assault rifles and covered faces. Their uniforms and movements are consistent with a unit assigned to protect President William Ruto.
## Minister defends police response
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen told the BBC that police action had been restrained after the crowd started throwing objects.

> I don't think… somebody [was] sitting there and saying: 'Shoot now'. It is the judgment of the police officer at the spur of the moment.
## Widow questions why her husband died
Yvonne Akinyi, widow of Vincent Ogutu, told the BBC: The people meant to protect us cause us pain and make young widows and orphans.

> The people who we look at to protect us, these are the people that cause us this pain.
## Investigation still ongoing after a year
A year on, Kenya's police watchdog, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, is still investigating the deaths and police response.No-one has been held to account.
## Key takeaway

BBC analysis found three mourners shot dead at Raila Odinga's October 2025 funeral were 60 to 160 metres from the confrontation that triggered police gunfire, contradicting the official account.