Quarantine centres 'detention without trial camps' - rights groups

John Karanja had to rush to Nairobi's CBD at 5pm on Monday last week  to buy pain killer syrup for his two-year-old son.

He was stopped at about 6.50 in Gachi by police officers enforcing the 7pm to 5am curfew. He was arrested for violating curfew, not given a warning and told the rush home.

They demanded Sh10,000 to let him go or "be taken to Mbagathi for quarantine for the next 14 days and pay more", Karanja's wife Mary Gtithinji told the Star.

She narrated her husband's ordeal: 

He stuck to his guns, explaining his situation and saying his child was sick, hoping to win their sympathy.

Unmoved, the officers ordered his car towed to Kabete police station and arranged to send him to the Kenya Medical Training Centre (KMTC) or quarantine.

When he got there, his temperature was not taken, nor was he tested for the coronavirus He was handed a thin mattress and blanket and told he had to stay for 14 days.

Social media has been awash with tales similar to Karanja's, as people describe their experiences with police after being found outside during curfew - even just a little - then dragged to quarantine institutions at their own costs, about Sh2,000 per day plus expenses, at the minimum.

They are not charged in court.

On Wednesday during live radio interviews, President Uhuru Kenyatta suggested that some of those in quarantine had been arrested for violating curfew or self-quarantine rules.  

“We have another group of those getting arrested for failure to comply with the regulations. There are those who were supposed to be in self-quarantine but were instead arrested while walking around aimlessly. Why do you want to be a burden to other Kenyans who are law-abiding?” the President asked.

Despite protests from Kenyans against what they term detention without trial, the government has continued to force those arrested into quarantine without testing - and requiring them to pay all costs.

Human rights activists are outraged, protesting against the conduct of the police.

They say it is inhumane for officers to exploit directives on curfew and mandatory wearing of masks in public - extorting citizens and using mandatory quarantine as punishment if they refuse to give bribes.

Civil rights lawyer Demas Kiprono told the Star the practice was turning the quarantine quarters into detention-without-trial camps, violating constitutional provisions on the rights of arrested persons.

Their actions are extrajudicial, he said.

"The arrested persons should be taken to court so they benefit from the due process of law. Otherwise, the current situation is only extortion fodder for the police.”

The Kenya Social League, a civil society group, said in a statement the trend was a worrisome a development that “defeats the purpose such facilities are established to serve".

The group said it was baffling that the state had released more than 4,500 petty offenders from cells and police commanders have been directed to stop holding petty offenders until the virus situation normalises.

Those moves are intended to decongest prisons and jails, limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

And yet, at the same time, the police are resorting to crowding these 'violators' together, increasing the chances he coronavirus will indeed spread, the group said.

“This mode of quarantining is putting the health of those isolated there at risk of contracting Covid-19, which the curfew was intended to prevent in the first place," the Kenya Social League said.

"The quarantine facilities are fast turning into concentration camps,"  Al Amin Kimathi, a group member said. 

Meanwhile, John Karanja - who only wanted pain medicine for his son, and wouldn't pay a bribe - remains in quarantine.

(Edited by V. Graham)