Some residents of Kiambu have complained that the containment measures put in place toby President Uhuru Kenyatta last Friday to curb the spread of Covid-19 were harsh and punitive to their businesses.
Speaking to KNA at his stall at the Ruiru market, Maurice Kyalo a businessman as well as a resident of Ruiru narrated how these measures affected him and his family at large. “I was quite devastated after hearing the measures put in place by the head of state following the positivity rate of the pandemic” he said.
He was particularly concerned with the measures pertaining to bthe restriction of movement from the zoned areas. “This is because I had a member of my family that I needed to bury up country in Kitui on the 31st of March. Unfortunately, residents within the zoned areas of Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Nakuru and Kajiado are not allowed to traverse to the other 42 counties since most Covid-19 cases are reportedly from the one of the zoned areas.
“As if that is not enough, not all members of the family will be present at the burial of our beloved as the President made clear in his speech in regard to funeral ceremonies that is attendees, officiators, and facilitators of funerals or cremation ceremonies were to be limited to 50 persons in total, and yet we are a big family of more than 100 people. I do not understand that these measures were instilled to protect people from contacting the dreaded disease as more people die every day but it is impossible to ignore the fact that these measures are quite tough to deal with” he noted
Speaking to KNA, Catherine Kibe, another resident of Kiambu town who works as a waitress at a hotel through a one on one interview said, ” In as much as some of these measures seem tough to deal with, especially the one pertaining restaurants and eateries as people will now be getting take away services only, chances of contracting the disease from customers will be minimal. She supported the Presidential directive saying the head of state was concerned about leading a healthy nation so that they did not invest in purchasing drugs for treatment and prevention of the killer virus.
Joann Chege, a resident of Kiambu town who owns a salon said, ” I had made plans to travel up country for Easter holidays but now my plans are ruined since measures have been put to ensure that people within the one zoned area do not travel to the other 42 counties and vice versa for those in the 42 counties yet my home is in Laikipia
By Lydia shiloya and Miriam Muli
