Kibaki back after ‘routine’ checkup

Former President Mwai Kibaki is back in the country after a three week ‘routine’ checkup in Britain.

Kibaki, who has been out of the limelight for a while, jetted back into the country on Tuesday evening.

Sources told The Standard the former Head of State was accompanied by a renowned Gastroenterologist based at a Nairobi hospital.

“The former President left the country on the last Saturday of August for treatment abroad. It was for a checkup, having gone through surgery before, and the family felt there was no need to make it public because there was no cause for alarm,” said the source.

“As a standard procedure, a local doctor had to accompany him on the flight to monitor him, but it was nothing very serious.”

When he returned, Kibaki appeared jovial, as he chatted with family before he was driven to his Muthaiga home, the source added.

“He was very upbeat when he arrived and in his usual self-exchanged pleasantries with those at hand to receive him. It was mostly his close family members," the source told The Standard.

Kibaki has been out of the limelight for some time now and has rarely attended public functions for the past two months.

The former President, who has developed a liking for his retirement home in Nyeri, has been seen attending church services at the Consolata Cathedral in the town - a few kilometres from his Mweiga residence.

After church service, Kibaki often seen chatting with locals before he is driven back to the heavily guarded home on the Nyeri-Nyahururu road.

He has been going for regular checkups in Nairobi since he underwent a successful minor surgery two years ago.

In 2016, Kibaki was flown to Netcare Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa for the minor surgery.

Family members said he had undergone a brief procedure to remove a blood clot in one of his veins. His immediate family did not comment.