Kenyans worry for sick president

By Gray Phombeah BBC, Nairobi

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki was back on his feet on Tuesday, but he immediately limped into a gathering storm over his ill-health and misgivings about a rogue and accident-prone government that has been in power for only four weeks.

Kibaki won the elections from a wheelchair

He was released from hospital after receiving treatment for blood clots in his leg and high blood pressure caused by complications following a car crash two months ago.

Mr Kibaki's opposition coalition group won a landslide victory in the 27 December elections.

He took over after 24 years of rule by Daniel arap Moi, who was bound by the constitution to retire.

Leaning on a crutch, the 71-year-old leader was immediately whisked off to State House, instead of his private home in Nairobi's posh and leafy suburb of Muthaiga - a move that underscored the urgency to rebuild a young but seemingly rudderless presidency.

For a leader who has spent the best part of his presidency in a wheelchair, events that unfolded after his swearing in seemed rather cruel to a man who symbolised so much hope for many Kenyans.

Presidential toe

In his first weeks in office, Kenyans became accustomed to pictures of the president's toe sticking out of his plastered leg while being wheeled around State House - whether swearing in his first cabinet or meeting foreign dignitaries.

When he was wheeled back to hospital 10 days ago, most Kenyans welcomed updates of their president's state of health - a novelty on a continent where leaders' ailments are either state secrets or the people are made to believe their leaders never fall ill.

Kenyans want Kibaki to carry out the reforms he promised

But observers of Mr Kibaki's government say soon his ill-health began to take its toll on the running of the infant government.

They point out that the state opening of the new parliament had to be postponed until February owing largely to President Kibaki's hospitalisation.

Before long, he was joined at the Nairobi Hospital by four other ministers who survived a plane crash in western Kenya that left one minister dead. The ministers were returning to Nairobi from a victory bash.

Newspaper cartoonists were quick to depict a wheelchair-bound President Kibaki surrounded by bed-ridden ministers chairing his cabinet in a hospital ward.

Honeymoon dampened

Away from his hospital bed, his ministers continued to engage in theatrics resembling a roadside circus, often issuing wild policy statements contradicting one another and undermining the image of a sober government that meant business.

Other social and economic forces also conspired to dampen the Kibaki government's honeymoon.

Students have already taken to the streets

Since the new government assumed power in early January, thousands of Kenyan workers have downed tools to protest against poor wages and working conditions.

They were joined by university students in storming work places, torching vehicles and looting.

By early this week, the phenomenal euphoria that greeted his party's triumph over Kanu - a party that had ruled Kenya for 40 years - had given way to anxiety over the new president's health and his ability to govern.

Although his aides had insisted that President Kibaki had continued to discharge some of his duties from his hospital bed, lingering concern that the president appeared not to be in control persisted as he took his first steps back to full recovery outside Nairobi Hospital.

Many Kenyans can only hope that they have seen the back of the spell of bad luck that has haunted his last few weeks in office.