The lacklustre attitude towards national issues by the government may have fomented the deep mistrust Kenyans have towards their leaders today, but this scepticism should not be a reason for citizens to aid in the spread of coronavirus.
The majority of Kenyans continues to throw caution in the wind despite numerous deaths in countries reputed for cutting-edge medical technology and instead accuses government officials of plotting to enrich themselves from donor funds.
This is enough reason to send shivers through any right-minded citizen so knows the magnitude of the virus.
So far, 42 cases have been reported in the country by the Ministry of Health but a section of Kenyans still think the safety guidelines and directives are a ploy by the state to infringe upon their right to eke out a living and free movement.
But it should dawn upon Kenyans that unlike ethnic clashes where mediators have always been brought in from foreign countries; and terrorism where the African Union and UN have always lent a helping hand, coronavirus knows no international mediator.
Anyone that could come to your aid is either protecting themselves or their people or staying home to avoid aiding the spread of the virus. This is not the time to think about the house you intended to build this year, birthday parties and baby showers. This is the time to shelve that greed-induced cynicism and think about one's health.
One may argue about safety directives adversely affecting the economy and denying people their right to get food, but sick and dead people have never built an economy. If anything, they drain the economy the most through costs incurred during medication and the burden passed to relatives through the orphans and widows left behind.
People must desist from comments like 'coronavirus does not affect Africans' and 'I’d rather die of corona than of hunger'. Waiting for a relative to die to start taking precautions could be the height of folly for a country whose healthcare is crippling.
Coronavirus is avoidable if people follow safety measures. Our major worry shouldn’t be about food. No one should wait for the government to remind them daily about basic hygiene routines like social distancing and hand washing and sanitising.
It's high time we started setting up food banks to cushion the poor from starvation occasioned by low business.
The Kenyan government must be seen to be proactive by making painful decisions. Perhaps this is the time to announce a full lockdown in major towns in the country, suspend government projects and operations and use the money to offer free food to low-income areas.
However, all these will require that Kenyans behave in a civil manner. Scrambling for food whether at food banks or those donated by the government could pose a far much greater risk of the virus than overcrowding in open-air markets, churches and funerals.
Via E-Mail
