• The the lockdown worsens poverty.
• It also increases crimes of all shorts, from petty theft to murder.
Image: DOUGLAS OKIDDY
The Law Society of Kenya has urged the restoration of tax relief and safety nets to help Kenyans hurt by Covid-19 restrictions.
They were recently withdrawn because the country is short of cash.
In a statement on Saturday, LSK said the lockdowns and curfews at 8pm have caused millions of people to lose their jobs or suffer slashed incomes.
The result is worsening poverty.
"It is imperative government puts in place a raft of measures including a fiscal plan to address the financial problems facing Kenyans," the statement by Law Soiety CEO Mercy Wambua read.
"The Law Society of Kenya has asked the government to return the tax reliefs put in place in 2020 to cushion citizens, businesses and investments from the effects of the lockdown as a result of Covid-19."
LSK also said failure by the state to cushion the public will increased petty crime, muggings, burglary, robbery with violence and murder.
The following are far from petty crimes committed by those hard-up for cash and motives other than money appear at play.
Betty Baraza, a video editor at national broadcaster KBC, was shot twice in the head at close range after intruders pushed their way into her compound and home on April 7. They claimed they wanted money.
The murder follows the reported kidnaping and murder of Jennifer Wambua, an official at the National Lands Commission. She was said to be a witness in a high-profile corruption case.
The society also cites the disappearance of lawyer Benson Njau Kayai, whom it says "was kidnapped in broad day light on February 7, 2021, And his whereabouts still remain unknown and no suspect has been arrested to-date."
"The Society demands that the Inspector General of Police and Director of Criminal Investigations expedite the investigations into the cases mentioned... and identify the evil perpetrators who must then be apprehended, arraigned in court and prosecuted accordingly," LSK said.
The society says the rising incidences of crime and the slow pace of their resolution "seriously puts to question the efficiency of the security measures put in place by the government".
(Edited by V. Graham)