Doctor: Kenyan prime minister has fluids drained from head after pressure buildup, now stable

Kenyan prime minister has fluids drained from head

NAIROBI, Kenya — Doctors made a hole in the head of Kenya’s prime minister to relieve pressure building on the outside of his brain, and doctors said Tuesday he was in stable condition.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, 65, will remain in the hospital for the next five days, said Dr. Oluoch Olunya, a neurosurgeon.

“I would like to assure the country that he is actually well. The headache that he had yesterday has all been cleared,” said Olunya.

He added that doctors had to open a hole in Odinga’s skull to drain the fluid on Monday.

“Suffice it is to say drainage was carried out, when you talk about surgery it is just a release by opening a small opening at the skull,” Olunya said.

Odinga was admitted to the hospital late Monday after reporting feelings of exhaustion. Officials earlier Tuesday had said the prime minister was suffering from fatigue. A statement from Nairobi Hospital called the procedure doctors carried out to relieve the pressure “minor.”

Odinga became prime minister when he signed a power-sharing deal with President Mwai Kibaki to end violence following Kenya’s disputed December 2007 presidential election. More than 1,000 people were killed in the postelection violence.

Odinga’s doctor said the buildup of pressure occurred after Odinga banged his head in one of his vehicles three weeks ago.

Odinga’s doctors did not answer questions from reporters and did not specify the exact condition affecting Odinga. One possibility is hydrocephalus, a condition where excessive fluid builds up on the brain. If left untreated, symptoms of the condition include cognitive problems and difficulty walking, according to the website of the Hydrocephalus Association.

The last time Odinga was hospitalized was in 2008 when he underwent an eye operation in Germany.

Political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi said Odinga’s hospitalization may hurt campaigns to build support for a draft constitution that limits the enormous powers given to the president and proposes an American-style system of checks and balances. The largely unchecked powers of Kenya’s president are believed to have entrenched the inequalities in the country that fueled the political violence more than two years ago.

Odinga has been leading campaigns in favor of the draft charter ahead of the Aug. 4 referendum.

Ngunyi said Kenyans believe Odinga is the only person who can implement the constitution.

“That is why Raila is very critical as the general behind the ‘yes’ troops,” Ngunyi said. “He is seen as the man who will save the country from possibilities of a repeat of the postelection violence. So in his absence then, the loss is felt and in his absence we cannot trust anybody else to take us through to the other side.”