Police in Namanga have arrested a middle-aged woman who fled from Eastleigh in Nairobi on Wednesday night together with her two children and placed them in forced quarantine.
Amdi Mohammed Surwa was arrested on Friday after Nyumba kumi elders alerted the police that the woman who lives in Eastleigh but occasionally visits Namanga had been seen in the area.
According to her neighbours, Surwa arrived at night after Eastleigh town was put on lockdown and they wondered how she managed to bypass the Isinya roadblock.
Nyumba Kumi elder Benjamin Saisi said Namanga residents were now living in fear of contracting the virus as there could be more people who had escaped the lockdown and managed to get to the town.
He urged the Government to tighten security and surveillance at the roadblocks adding that there was laxity at the Isinya road block as the woman had managed to travel all the way to Namanga using a taxi.
“We are wondering how the woman and her children passed through the Isinya roadblock and yet Nairobi has been on lockdown. It means the police are sleeping on their job and many more people running away from the lockdown in Eastleigh might have crossed over,”said Saisi.
According to the woman, her cousin hired a taxi for her and her children and made a phone call to the police manning the roadblock and thus she managed to cross the roadblock without any hindrances.
She said she travelled on Wednesday evening and spent the night at Isinya town before proceeding to Namanga in the taxi the next morning.
“I came from Eastleigh and slept in Isinya as it was already night.My cousin hired a taxi for us in Isinya which then took us to Namanga. We did not have any trouble passing through the police roadblock,” said Surwa.
Kajiado Central Sub-county commander Daudi Loronyokwe confirmed that the woman had been placed under forced quarantine together with her two children and they were tracing the driver of the taxi who ferried them.
Loronyokwe warned those fleeing areas under lockdown that they are breaking the law and they would be arrested and placed under mandatory quarantine for fourteen days after which they will be charged.
“We have arrested one woman and placed her under mandatory quarantine together with her two children after we were informed that she fled from Eastleigh to Namanga to escape the lockdown,”he said.
The Commander commended the Nyumba kumi elders for alerting the police and called
on members of the public to be alert and report any individuals who were moving into the neighbourhood from areas marked as hotspots to them.
The government on Wednesday placed Eastleigh and Mombasa old Town on lockdown for 15 days in a bid to curb the rising numbers of covid-19positive cases in the areas.
Health Cabinet Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman expressed concern over a large number of residents who escaped on Wednesday night to their relatives in South B and South C estates.
“We are aware that some people have sneaked out to neighbouring estates, this is not good at all as they risk spreading the virus. In Nairobi, people are reported to have escaped from Eastleigh to South C, South B among others. We are appealing to people housing them to come out and report,” he said.
Kenya has so far recorded 621 Covid -19 positive cases with 29 people succumbing to disease.
By Rop Janet
