• NCCK chairman says government should engage China to address the claims of Kenyans being mistreated in Beijing.
• Cleric says Kenya should evacuate their citizens from China like other countries did when coronavirus broke out.
The government has been urged to take seriously the cry of Kenyans who are allegedly suffering in China after allegedly being evicted from their homes.
National Chairman of churches in Kenya Archbishop Timothy Ndambuki said it is the responsibility of the national government to take care of those Kenyans and ensure their safety.
Speaking to the Star on Saturday, he said the government should engage China to address the claims of Kenyans being mistreated in Beijing.
Ndambuki asked the government to begin evacuating the Kenyans noting that other countries have been bringing their citizens back to their countries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In fact, we have witnessed other countries through their embassies look out for their citizens in China others have even evacuated them. Kenya should follow suit,” he said.
The cleric said their rights were being violated by the Chinese nationals and if the situation persists, it could raise hatred between Kenyans and Chinese nationals who live here.
Ndambuki, who is also the Most Reverend of the Africa Brotherhood Church in Eastern and Southern Africa, said, "When the life of any citizen is in danger, their only saviour is the government.”
The NCCK chairman asked why the government has abandoned its citizens “yet Chinese nationals are free in Kenya”.
"This matter has raised concerns among other African countries whose citizens are allegedly being mistreated in China. The intelligence department should chip in and contain the situation before its gets out of hand.”
His sentiments were echoed by Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr who called the Interior and Foreign Affairs ministers to address Kenyans on how they plan to help Kenyan citizens in China.
"We expect the interior CS to address us and give us a report on how they will sort them out because it is shocking to see our children and students being chased out in the cold while their people are living freely over here,” Kilonzo said.
He said he had approached the CSs to negotiate how the Kenyans would have been evacuated when the virus first broke out in China.
But the government feared bringing Kenyans in China back would expose the country to the virus that had not reached Kenya then.
Mutula said he reached out to them after parents and students’ representatives approached him out of concern for the Kenyans in China.
This comes a few hours after reports from Reuters alleged that the Chinese government has ordered restaurants not to serve African clients.
On Thursday afternoon, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, China and African countries have always supported each other and have always fought against the virus jointly.
"I would like to emphasize that the Chinese government treats all foreigners in China equally, opposes any differentiated practices targeted at specific groups of people and has zero tolerance for discriminatory words and actions."
Edited by R.Wamochie