Kibaki scheduled for surgery on Thursday in South Africa.

Former President Mwai Kibaki is scheduled for surgery in a South African hospital on Thursday to remove a blood clot in a vein in his neck.

According to a South African source familiar with his condition, doctors at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg located the clot in good time while it was in a relatively safe part of his body.

A clot in the blood is generally dangerous especially if it gets into organs such as the brain, heart and the lungs.

The source was upbeat about Mr Kibaki’s condition, saying “he is much better than when he left the country” and that he is able to move around.

But Mr Kibaki is 84 and a stroke, his third, whatever its the level of its intensity, is a serious threat to his health.

Tuesday was Mr Kibaki’s third day in the South African hospital.

Even as information regarding the reported minor surgery filtered in, details about his health remain scanty as government officials and the family treated the issue with utmost privacy.

However, some government sources said the former President was conscious and was walking around.

“He is recuperating well. Today he spoke to his doctor and family members who are with him in South Africa,” said the source.

TREATED OVERNIGHT

Mr Kibaki was admitted to the Netcare Sunninghill Hospital on Sunday after falling ill on Saturday.

According to sources the Nation spoke to, only his family members are allowed to see him.

(READ: Kibaki in top SA heart hospital)

Mr Kibaki was taken to Karen Hospital in Nairobi at the weekend and treated overnight before being flown to South Africa, accompanied by his personal physician, Dan Gikonyo.

But the Nation has since learnt that besides Dr Gikonyo, the President is also being attended to by a government doctor whose name is yet to be disclosed.

According to Netcare's website, the hospital specialises in cardiology, a branch of medicine that deals with diseases and abnormalities associated with the heart.

“The high technology and expertise of our cardiologists [ensure] that our cardiac patients receive world-class treatment,” the website says.

Mr Kibaki is in Aloe Ward on the hospital’s second floor under tight security by Kenyan personnel.

A source privy to the former Head of State’s health urged Kenyans to stop raising anxiety about Mr Kibaki’s condition, saying there was nothing unusual about him falling ill and seeking medical treatment.