Deny Them Water, Demolish Homes And Watch Them Get Covid-19

In the past four days, confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the informal settlement in Nairobi have been on the increase. Mathare and Kibra have been topping the charts of slums with the most number of confirmed cases of Covid-19.

It is not strange that Kenya is recording positive Covid-19 cases to the tune of 100 plus with the majority of them coming from the slums. As usual, the clueless government and the Ministry of Health are asking why the cases are suddenly high in these areas.

On the positive side, the cases are high in these areas because the government has started carrying out testing for the public. The cases are actually not being “discovered” but just being “identified.” For 33 cases to be discovered in an overcrowded slum, means the least we can do is expect the worst. So, why are the cases up? The government is at least testing them.

If the people in the slums in Kenya will die en masse as a result of Covid-19, the government of the Republic of Kenya will have itself to blame. Why? These people have been neglected and living life harder than that of the jungle. The informal settlements in Nairobi have not seen a drop of water for more than two months, they can’t afford masks and they have no food.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, while addressing the nation, ordered that people living in the informal settlement in Nairobi and other parts of the country were to be supplied with water for FREE. Immediately the Son of Jomo made the announcement, the taps ran dry. Water was discontinued and the cartels are now minting millions by selling water at between 50 and 100 shillings per every 20-liter container.

In the mind of President Uhuru Kenyatta, these people are getting water for free. On the ground, they are being milked dry by the cartels. No water in the taps. To fight Covid-19, water is essential for watching hands and maintaining general hygiene. Also, as these people scramble for water, they are crowded at the same place, increasing the chances of the spread of Covid-19.

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The majority of the people in informal settlements do not have masks. They are torn between buying a mask and the next meal. The price of masks shot through the roof, retailing between 100 and 150 shillings. Those hawked on the streets are going for between 40 and 50 shillings. Mutahi Kagwe and his Choir members at Afya House have just been singing on giving them free masks.

The geniuses in the Jubilee government, who care about the poor and their welfare, went and demolished thousands of houses in Kariobangi and Ruai, leaving thousands of families in the cold with no food, clothing or water. As lesser human beings, they had nowhere to go other than crowd together to either demonstrate or find something to eat.

The government, through the Ministry of Interior, has terribly failed and negatively affected the fight against Covid-19. Trigger-happy police offers have successfully managed to turn a health matter into a law and order matter. They have criminalized everything including poverty. Instead of arresting, beating and injuring someone without a mask, why not give them one?

Nkt.

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