GOOFING IN THE TIMES OF CORONA.
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Courtesy of BBC |
Let's start from the onset.
When China was considered a hotspot,
other nations from the onset shut down operations, especially travel out of
China to their territories. Remember what our beloved Government said? "We
are monitoring the situation." It was still cosy and rosy, doing business
with China. It's around this time that the Southern Airlines plane flew into
Nairobi from the hotbed of Corona Virus. https://bit.ly/2zmWhrF
Authorities deemed news of the plane landing at JKIA going viral graver than the plane landing on the Kenyan soil. Keeping tabs on who had the virus from that flight came long after they had apprehended the worker who took and leaked the video. The fact that a concerned Kenyan, Ali Gure, recorded the incidence was reason enough for Kenya Airways - the loss-making government entity, to fire the whistleblower, the Kenyan saviour. https://bit.ly/3dqJLWI
Enters Corona
Finally, Coronavirus reaches Kenya
via unclear circumstances based on the events that would follow. The nation is
on tenterhooks, shopping spree begins everywhere, then the Government assures
the public to remain calm, and we, good Kenyans believe. The gullible ones like
me praised our Government for doing a splendid job, being on top of the game.
We even sang, "Mutahi Kagwe for President!"
Well, that splendid job didn't last. The Government then instituted a raft of directions, including social distancing, ban of public functions. Days later, it was the very Government that broke the rule with a National Prayer Day. What did they expect? To emulate our able Government, we flocked to churches to pray for the nation that weekend, beating the very logic of social distancing and avoiding public gatherings.
The church gatherings did not last.
Someone from the Government realised their mistake. They came out guns blazing
and rapped the church, berated Kenyans, and then instituted a 7 pm to 5 am
curfew. Just like that, we had discovered a perfect solution to the Kenyan
strand of Covid-19 that was deemed to only spread at night!
Press Conferences
All these were aptly reported through
the new norm of daily press conferences. As panic gripped the nation, we got
hope and reassurances from the Ministry of Health. Occasionally, when deemed
very important, we had the President's presser. We were adequately informed of
news cases and how they were following individuals who had come into contact
with those who had tested positive. That's when they taught us the meaning of
"contact tracing." It came from the very Government that failed to
secure all entry points into the country. We, good Kenyans, waited diligently
and patiently.
After this came the much-awaited
Presidential Presser. We anticipated a total lockdown as the cases had
increased. We kept wondering if the President was going to announce Kenyans
will receive emergency food supplies to survive the total Lockdown. Is he going
to account for the donations, financial, and well as equipment support from
"friends of Kenya"? No, we were overthinking. The President was up to
nothing much but launching "Google Balloons." Yaani in this torrid times,
the President..a whole president called a presser, all nation glued to TV and
Radio and gathered other Livestream platforms to launch Balloons? I might be
the only one who lives in a cave not to know the value of these balloons
(forgive my ignorance), but I expected better and more from the President.
As we struggled to understand the
gist of the Google balloon, another presser was called only this time we were
told there is a Governance coup that had been effected on Nairobi County by the
Central Government. Shortly after, another Presser for handing over (I hope the
100 Day Mandate is still in effect for the Metropolitan team) the county to the
Government. These three presidential pressers clearly tell you where the
Government's heart is and where it is not.
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Courtesy of WHO Africa |
The CS for health now steps in each
day with his now famed "Fellow Kenyans if we continue to behave normally,
this thing will treat us abnormally" liner, but this turns into warnings,
threats, bulldozing and all the emotionless words the Government can find. You
see, our Government is obsessed with appearing tough. And oh boy, haven't they
been tough!
At some point, the police were
competing with the virus itself in maiming and killing Kenyans, but Alas! Even
with a dead and buried 11-year-old to show for it, IG Hillary Mutyambai said
there is nothing like Police brutality. apparently, that is a foreign word that they do not
even have a clue to its meaning; even with sufficient evidence.
Which makes me think, "Why do we
still believe that brute force used on Africans during the colonial era is the
same we need to employ on our brothers and sisters? What would make a
government-funded and trained police personnel to force fellow Kenyans to sit
in the mud? Or clobber them senselessly while laughing hysterically?"
Maybe we are just a country of rogue
men and women! Thuggery is our modus operandi.
While the Ministry officials are
coining more forceful words to use in their pressers day after another, the
real men behind the figures are hiring ambulances and eating mandazi with tea
worth millions of shillings--if the explanation of the 1B from the Health
Officials is anything to go by. On the contrary, as they drown in this unique
imported tea, we have Kenyans who are either forced to go on quarantine or
forced to cough out 2,000/= per day for being forcefully quarantined. The one
that caught my eye was of a family with unemployed members being slapped with
about Ksh. 500,000/= bill, but of course, our Government is noble; it will now
carter for all the quarantine bills.
As Kenyans, we have fallen right into the trap where the cartel wanted us. They set it in motion, they slap poor people with bills left right and centre knowing too well, Kenyans, especially KOT, will shout like mayday preachers. Just then, they will "give in" and take over the bills, but you can surely wait for "Quarantine Gate." How many Kenyans have been to quarantine facilities? Where have they been isolated? For how many days? In which facilities? Who are the owners of these facilities? I await to see how much shall be allocated the quarantine vote for therein lie the lies.
New wave of Corona Virus
Fellow Kenyans, you see even as
Eastleigh, Kawangware, and Mombasa Old Town have gone over the roof, the
indecision of this Government or its officials is to blame. Look at it this
way;
- We were indeed going to spend more money putting the nation on total Lockdown for 14 or 21 days in providing food supplies to the ordinary mwananchi. However, an extended period of fluctuating COVID-19 numbers would have an even more devastating effect and eventually be costlier.
- We have avoided total Lockdown that's it is costly, but with this sporadic rise one month later, we might end up doing what we ought to have done in the first place, and at a higher cost.
- What was the need to open up places like restaurants with one mouth but on the other hand warn that the situation hasn't normalised? (What's with the beer sausage speech? Kwani now the Government cares that people drink beer and sausage?) I thought even someone drinking tea or soda in that manner would still be exposed.
Courtesy of Facebook Post
Yes, our Government works hard to secure the nation, but it is also true to say that the goofs in this period have been one too many!
Anyway, what do I know? I am just a
Kenyan trying to survive the Coronavirus Lockdown, sitting somewhere wondering
when all will be normal for our children to go back to school, see their
friends, and our co-parents; the hardworking teachers of Kenya.
Fellow Kenyans, that's our Government. Tuendelee kupambana na hali yetu!
Wild thoughts: In this time of Corona,
is it simple for any government to summon or pick someone they consider an
enemy of the state, take you in for questioning, say you have tested positive
of COVID-19, take you in for quarantine and then after few days pronounce you
dead of the same predicament... Right?
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