• Politicians are at greater risk of catching Covid-19 because of their frequent public engagements
• Politicians also often think they are above the law and don't have to follow the same rules as other members of society
Reportedly 17 MPs and senators tested positive for Covid-19 after voluntary testing last week.
This is a wake-up call for everyone. All over the world politicians are catching the coronavirus at a higher rate than the general public. Indeed the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is in intensive care.
The explanation is simple. The business of politicians is to interact with people. They shake hands, they greet, they hug more often than the average citizen. They are therefore more likely to contract the virus.
Politicians also have a sense of entitlement that can put them at greater risk. They feel that they are allowed to break the rules. That is why politicians have been caught in bars during curfew and how the Deputy Governor could spread the virus to Kilifi when he was supposed to be in self-quarantine.
The infection of these politicians shows that the coronavirus is now spreading independently inside Kenya, it is not just being imported from abroad.
So politicians should self-distance, wash their hands, and wear masks - just like the citizens they represent and for whom they should be role models.
Quote of the day: "If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The German dissident was executed by the Nazis on April 9, 1945