Principal Secretary for Interior Raymond Omollo has urged mourners to remain calm after two students were killed in a road accident during a funeral procession for Technical University of Mombasa student leader Elvis Otieno.
The accident happened on Friday as students and friends travelled from Mombasa to Awasi in Nyando Constituency, Kisumu County, where Otieno, also known as The Beast, was due to be buried.
Several other students were injured in the crash. Dr Omollo said most had been discharged from hospital by Saturday morning, although three were still receiving treatment.
Speaking while conveying his condolences to Otieno’s family in Awasi, Dr Omollo appealed to mourners and students who had travelled from across the country to allow the funeral to proceed peacefully.
“It’s quite unfortunate. Evis was a personal friend and we share in the pain that the family has,” he said.
Dr Omollo described Otieno as a young leader who was committed to education, fellow students and his community.
He urged young people to draw lessons from Otieno’s life and avoid actions that could disrupt the funeral or undermine the dignity of the occasion.
“I want to appeal for calm throughout the day so that we give Elvis the dignity that he deserves, the respect and also just to honour his family,” he said.
Dr Omollo said Otieno had regularly returned to his home village to support his siblings and other members of the community.“Let’s learn from the life of Elvis.
“One, he loved education, that is why most of us are here today. He was a student leader, he loved fellow youths, he loved his community,” he said.
The deaths have cast a shadow over the funeral, with Dr Omollo warning young people against activities that could disrupt relations between the community, elected leaders and the national government.
“Let’s not get into things that would easily erode a lot of gains and the goodwill that we have both from our leaders who are elected as well as this administration of President William Ruto,” he said.
Dr Omollo also conveyed President Ruto’s condolences to the family, saying the president had asked him to personally pass on his message of sympathy and assure the family of his support and prayers.
The government will also help students affected by the accident to return to Mombasa, Dr Omollo said.
He said arrangements had been made with the university’s dean of students to provide transport for those who had travelled from Mombasa.
“For those who travelled on the bus that had an accident, we have agreed with your dean of students that we will arrange to get transport for you to travel back to Mombasa after the services today,” he said.
Dr Omollo urged mourners to support Otieno’s family and allow the funeral to proceed peacefully. Otieno was buried on Saturday.
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