Raila suffered ‘food poisoning’, says doctor
What you need to know:
- Mr Salim Lone on Monday attributed the incident to a meal the opposition chief took before going to the airport.
- On Sunday night, Mr Odinga told journalists at Moi International Airport, Mombasa, that he was alright and had not been referred to another hospital.
- Although the ODM party leader was no longer on the drip and was given a clean bill of health by his doctor to resume his normal schedule, he was put on a precautionary dose of antibiotics.
Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s hospitalisation on Sunday evening in Mombasa was caused by food poisoning, according to his adviser.
Mr Salim Lone on Monday attributed the incident to a meal the opposition chief took before going to the airport.
Addressing journalists at the Okoa Kenya office, Mr Lone said Mr Odinga was taken to Mombasa Hospital when he noticed his stomach churning in the afternoon.
“Mr Odinga was certain that his problems arose from fish that he had eaten for lunch,” said Mr Lone. “None of his Nasa colleagues had taken that dish.”
The ODM party leader had spent the better part of the day in a series of election campaigns in Kilifi County, accompanied by his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka and co-principals Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula.
HASSAN JOHO
Others at the rallies included the host governor, Mr Amason Kingi, and his Mombasa colleague Hassan Joho.
Mr Lone said the former Prime Minister’s physician, Dr Oluoch Olunya, who flew in from Nairobi immediately he was notified, indicated that the symptoms were entirely consistent with the politician’s instinctive self-diagnosis.
“By the time he landed at Mombasa airport, his tummy was a bit painful and he went straight to the bathroom with a case of diarrhoea,” said Mr Lone. “He also threw up.
“Blood tests were taken and he was put on drip to rehydrate him from the fluid loss suffered.”
ANTIBIOTICS
Although the ODM party leader was no longer on the drip and was given a clean bill of health by his doctor to resume his normal schedule, he was put on a precautionary dose of antibiotics.
“It was an immense relief when, at 1.10 this morning, he sort of bounded down the Amref plane steps when it landed at Wilson Airport!” Mr Lone enthused.
“He was cheerful and described what had happened. It was a truly wonderful sight.”
According to Mr Lone, Dr Olunya attributed Mr Odinga’s rapid recovery to the fact that the toxins produced by the infected fish were cleared by the vomiting and diarrhoea.
ALRIGHT
“The body’s self-healing properties are simply astonishing,” said Mr Lone.
On Sunday night, Mr Odinga told journalists at Moi International Airport, Mombasa, that he was alright and had not been referred to another hospital.
“There is no cause for alarm,” said Mr Odinga. “I was a little bit cold and feverish, feeling uncomfortable and some stomach pains...perhaps it’s something that I ate.
CHECK-UP
“So, my colleagues decided to bring me here. That is how I got here. They insisted that I should come for check-up. The pains have somehow disappeared.”
He insisted that there was nothing wrong with his health, adding that doctors told him he was suffering from dehydration.
“I was given some water and that’s all,” Mr Odinga recounted. “They have checked me and all other indicators are okay. I am as fit as a fiddle.”
