Kenya opposition leader checked for signs of food poisoning

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s leading opposition leader, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, was taken to the hospital with suspected food poisoning Sunday.

A spokesman for the politician, Salim Lone, said Odinga was being checked after he felt “slightly unwell,” adding that “there is absolutely no reason for anyone to worry” about his health.

Making his fourth attempt to win Kenya’s presidency, Odinga is viewed as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s closest challenger in next month’s election.

Odinga’s supporters feel he won the presidential race 10 years ago, an election that international observers said was flawed.

Anger over the 2007 election sparked what many considered the worst outbreak of violence in Kenya since the East Africa nation gained independence from Britain in 1964. More than 1,000 people died and 600,000 others were evicted from their homes.