• Mombasa senator says the testing should involve counselling.
• Mombasa's Old Town area has over 40 cases of Covid-19 and six deaths.
Threats used by Mombasa county leadership in the fight against Covid-19 in Old Town area could be counterproductive, critics have warned.
On Saturday, Governor Hasssan Joho, Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir and county commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo warned that all Old Town residents must be tested for coronavirus.
The mandatory test in Old Town, which has an estimated population of 28,000 people, was necessitated by the the announcement of an unprecedented high number of coronavirus from the area.
At least 40 people, out of 148 cases reported in Mombasa, are from Old Town.
And out of 13 deaths from Covid-19 reported in the county, six are from the area.
Despite this threat, the majority of residents are opposed to mass testing and mandatory quarantine.
On Saturday, a furious Joho vowed that all residents will have to be tested by force, if they do not do so voluntarily.
“You (Old Town residents) are the ones at risk. Six people have been buried here since coronavirus was reported in Mombasa, but instead of taking precautions, you are busy criticising our efforts on social media. That will not help,” Joho said.
Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki and Nyali MP Mohammed Ali have, however, said the mass testing should be free from coercion.
Faki said while mass testing is a noble idea that everyone should be encouraged to participate, leaders should first deal with stigma associated with Covid-19 before testing residents.
“Immediately you test positive, you will have to be isolated and your family and all your contacts are supposed to be quarantined. The cost involved is also prohibitive, considering the hard economic times due to the pandemic,” Faki said.
He added that there should be a counselling programme before testing.
Ali warned Joho that no governor in Kenya has any power under the Constitution to force citizens to test or lock them in their houses.
“This is what Mombasa county people want, fair test results, free quarantine, conducive environment at quarantine centres and free treatment. Simple,” Ali said.
Residents say a family of renowned Islamic scholar and popular herbalist Sheriff Mwinyi Karama, who died after coming into contact with a Covid-19 patient, was mistreated by law enforcers.
“The family of 17 people, including house helps, was forced into quarantine at Port Reitz Hospital. By the end of 14 days, they were slapped with a Sh450,000 bill,” an Old Town resident said.
County commissioner Kitiyo said they might be forced to put Old Town under lockdown if the trend of new Covid-19 infections continues.
“I want to urge people from other regions, please do not come to Old Town. This is a dangerous area and people are now dancing with death,” said Kitiyo.
Edited by E.Kibii