Bondo, Siaya County, October 21, 2025 — The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has launched a manhunt for a mourner who allegedly snatched a firearm from a county governor’s bodyguard during the state funeral of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga in Bondo on Sunday.
The incident, which unfolded amid tight security at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi, briefly disrupted proceedings as police officers scrambled to recover the missing weapon and restore order.
According to police reports, the suspect — described as a young man in his late twenties — grabbed a pistol from one of the security officers attached to a county governor as the VIPs were leaving the graveside area. The officer, caught off-guard in the dense crowd, immediately raised an alarm.
DCI detectives and members of the Presidential Escort Unit swiftly moved in, sealing off the area as an operation to recover the firearm commenced. The crowd, estimated at over 20,000 mourners, was momentarily ordered to stay still as the security detail fanned out in search of the suspect.
Police later confirmed that the gun, a Ceska pistol, was recovered approximately 20 minutes later, abandoned near a cluster of tents close to the main stage. However, the individual responsible for the theft managed to flee the scene.
DCI headquarters in Nairobi said forensic teams had been dispatched to analyze fingerprints and surveillance footage from the funeral venue to identify and track down the suspect.
“We are reviewing all available footage and working with witnesses who saw the suspect during the commotion,” a senior DCI officer told Mulembe Times on condition of anonymity. “This was a serious security breach at a high-profile event, and we are treating it with utmost urgency.”
The officer added that the suspect will face charges of robbery with violence and illegal possession of a firearm once apprehended.
Multiple sources indicated that the bodyguard whose weapon was snatched serves in the VIP Protection Unit and was attached to one of the county governors from the Nyanza region who attended the funeral.
The incident has raised questions about security coordination during state funerals, particularly those involving large crowds and senior government officials.
Siaya County Police Commander Cletus Githinji confirmed that investigations were ongoing and appealed to members of the public with any information to come forward.
“We have clear leads and CCTV footage that captured the suspect moving away from the security zone. We are confident that we will apprehend him soon,” Githinji said.
The funeral, attended by President William Ruto, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, and several African dignitaries, had been largely peaceful until the brief moment of chaos following the theft.
Witnesses described scenes of confusion as security personnel temporarily restricted movement around the Odinga homestead. “There was shouting and pushing, but it was quickly contained. We later heard that a gun had gone missing,” said one mourner who attended the burial.
The DCI has since called for heightened security vigilance during national ceremonies and large public gatherings, emphasizing the need for better crowd management and controlled access in VIP zones.
Raila Odinga, who died on October 15, 2025, in Kerala, India, was laid to rest at his family home in Bondo on Sunday following a state funeral attended by thousands.
The brief security scare, though swiftly contained, cast a temporary shadow over what had otherwise been a solemn and dignified farewell to the country’s veteran opposition leader.
