The Nairobi City County officers will no longer make arrests in the city following the confirmation that Kenya has a number of coronavirus cases.
The suspension of arrests by the Nairobi City County Inspectorate and Enforcement Departments comes barely two days since President Uhuru Kenyatta confirmed to Kenyans that the global pandemic virus had made its way into the country’s borders.
“In line with the directives and guidelines issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta to prevent the spread and exposure to COVID-19,which has since been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO),” the notice by the Nairobi County government states.
“I have suspended with immediate effect all the arrests by the Nairobi City County Government Inspectorate and Enforcement officers until further notice,” the notice by the Nairobi County government orders.
The County government has noted that the decision to suspend the city arrests has been reached upon after all the courts of law suspended operations making it difficult to arraigned suspects within the 24 hours provided by the constitution.
“This is informed by the fact that the operations of all courts of law have been suspended, hence suspects cannot be arraigned within 24 hours as provided by the Constitution of Kenya 2010,” the Nairobi County statement suspending all arrests by city county officers reads.
“Furthermore, many suspects are held in County vehicles for long periods of time before arraignment and the environment violates the current WHO guidelines on exposure to COVID-19,” the notice by the Nairobi County reads while affirming Nairobians that it will Of remain vigilant to ensure laws are followed.
“These departments shall remain vigilant to ensure that all County Laws are adhered to the letter,” the Nairobi County notice reads.
The notice signed by the Nairobi County Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko today, the 17th March 2020, was signed at his private office at Upperhill.
It remains unclear how the Nairobi County government plans to deal with petty crimes in the County.
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