Kenyan presidential candidate Mwai Kibaki has arrived in London for medical treatment following a car accident on Tuesday.

He is expected to stay in a private hospital in west London for three days where specialists consider further treatment on his fractured arm and sprained ankle.

The captain has been injured in the field... but the rest of the team shall continue

Narc's Raila Odinga

The 71-year-old candidate for a coalition of 13 opposition parties known as the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) is considered by many to be a slight favourite in the 27 December polls, which President Daniel arap Moi is barred from standing in.

Mr Kibaki is standing against the ruling Kanu party's Uhuru Kenyatta - son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president - and three other candidates.

Mr Kibaki's personal physician, Dr Dan Gikonyo, said they had decided to take him to the UK just to check the work of local doctors and surgeons.

"Kibaki is well and with it!" Dr Gikonyo said.

Campaign

In Nairobi, Narc launched its election manifesto with a pledge to revive the economy.

Kenyatta is seeking to continue the ruling party's reign

In the absence of Mr Kibaki, former senior ruling party politician Professor George Saitoti said that a fast economic recovery could be achieved through good governance.

The launch coincided with a Narc meeting of all 208 parliamentary candidates recently nominated to stand in the general elections.

On Wednesday, Mr Kibaki, a former vice president, assured journalists from his Nairobi hospital bed that the accident would not stop him campaigning.

"The fight is about to reach the climax and we want to maintain the momentum," he said.

Raila Odinga, a leading National Rainbow Coalition member, said the election campaign would continue despite the setback.

"The captain has been injured in the field... but the rest of the team shall continue," he said.

Mr Kibaki was returning from a two-day campaign trip to Eastern Province when the accident happened.

Two people were killed in an earlier accident involving a minibus, and Mr Kibaki's Range Rover was reported to have tried to avoid the crash and slid down a ditch.