Raila thought he’d return to watch World Cup match

Prime Minister Raila Odinga checked into Nairobi Hospital on Monday evening still hoping to watch the World Cup match between Brazil and Chile.

Since it was a feeling of discomfort that prompted him to see a doctor, he never thought it would take a long time — leave alone admission to hospital. “In fact, he released us knowing that he would not stay long at the hospital,” said his press secretary, Mr Dennis Onyango.

The doctors, however, had a different idea and admitted him at 6pm even as he resisted, officials at his office said on Tuesday. Mr Odinga had just declined a tea offer from the organisers of the Nairobi Dam clean-up exercise, the last function he had attended, and was driven to the hospital in his official car.

It was the end of a busy day, which started at his office at 8.30am, said the PM’s chief of staff Caroli Omondi and Mr Onyango. They said the PM’s first meeting was with Medical Services minister Anyang’ Nyong’o at 9am.

Prof Nyong’o briefed the PM on the strategies the ‘Yes’ campaign team was using to sell the proposed constitution to Kenyans. The minister and his Energy counterpart, Mr Kiraitu Murungi, are the co-conveners of the ‘Yes’ campaign.

Prof Nyong’o briefed the PM on strategies he and Mr Murungi had developed to bolster the campaign. Mr Odinga then met officials of the Geothermal Development Corporation, who gave him a report on the green energy initiative.

He rounded off the office meetings with organisers of the Nairobi Dam clean-up initiative. At 10.45am, Mr Odinga left for the ‘Yes’ parliamentary group meeting at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, which he co-chaired with President Kibaki.

After the PG meeting, Mr Odinga and the President had lunch with the MPs. The PM then left the function as President Kibaki prepared to brief journalists on the meeting’s deliberations.

He then went to the Nairobi Dam, where he launched the clean-up drive. It is after this meeting that he was driven to hospital and admitted after complaining of discomfort.