President Uhuru should end the double standards in Coronavirus safety guidelines

Double standards in Coronavirus safety guidelines

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is currently embroiled in a scandal after a senior aide, Dominic Cummings, breached the lockdown guidelines that other Britons have been forced to comply with.

Cummings has been under pressure to resign after he travelled over 400 kilometres out of London to his parent’s farmhouse.

The British society has received the news of Cummings with consternation with protesters and journalists camping at his house nearly on a daily basis.

Kenyans can learn something from the British public – and that is the fact that we should all submit to the rule of law without regard for our positions in society, or in government for that matter.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s admission that he has been separated from members of his family including his wife, son, and mother, is a demonstration of the seriousness of the Covid19 pandemic and the safety guidelines issued by the government.

However, while President Kenyatta may be seriously observing the safety rules, his government has not been equally serious with glaring double standards in how the safety guidelines are being observed.

MoH directives being flouted

Shortly after Kenyatta issued a ban on cessation of movement out of Nairobi, a number of his allies were exempted from the rules and allowed to attend a goat eating party in the otherwise quiet village of Kumpa, Kajiado County.

The allies included ODM Leader Raila Odinga, Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe, Siaya Senator James Orengo, and Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa.

The political allies were not travelling to save a life or for anything that would be considered essential movement, they were travelling to enjoy mbuzi choma but they went ahead to address the press about their meeting.

‘’It was as if they were spitting Kenyans that “we have the power and we can do whatever we want and you commoners are nothing”.The same double standards have continued and manifest almost on a daily basis without any protest from members of the public.

Children of a lesser god

Health CS had announced the government’s order limiting the number of people attending funerals. However, nearly all the funerals and burials affecting the elite in society have been exempted from this rule.

They include the sendoff ceremonies for Archbishop Mwana Nzeki, Keroche heiress Tecra Muiga, former MP Peter Kiilu, and the mother of Dr Dan Gikonyo. These are funerals that have attracted hundreds of mourners and even attended by security officers who have been raising commoners whenever there are more than 15 attendees.

Even known Covid-19 victims such a Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula’s brother, Tony Waswa, were buried in a ceremony attended by close to a hundred mourners while some of the other wananchi who died from suspected coronavirus were buried at night without the decency of family or a coffin. Kenyans have had to deal with cases of extreme police brutality when they flout the curfew directive.

It is time President Kenyatta holds security forces and leaders disregarding the law to a higher standard. Ordinary Kenyans have lost their lives at the hands of police officers, during this pandemic for defying the curfew.12 have died in an attempt to enforce dawn to dusk curfew and many others have been left nursing wounds after the unspeakable acts by police in the wake of coronavirus.

Why aren’t the who’s who in society held to the same standard?

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the company