Don’t take advantage of pandemic to extort people, Govt warns youth » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 13- The government has raised alarm over a new trend of crime involving the youth who are taking advantage of COVID-19 pandemic to commit robberies.

Operating in the guise of helping the government enforce various pandemic measures, including social distancing and face masks, some youths have been robbing people–mainly in the informal settlements.

Some have resorted to extortion.

“We must do what we can to contribute to this fight, rather than do things that will spoil the experiences of combating this disease,” Health Ministry’s CAS Dr Rashid Aman said Wednesday.

He said security agencies are on the look-out for the criminals.

“This is not only unacceptable, but it is also unlawful to demand money. They should refrain from such practices,” he said.

He, however, urged the country’s majority population, the youth, to continue helping the government in fighting the pandemic- whose infection rate shot up to 737 on Wednesday.

Some of the gains of a programme involving the youths, he said, include cleaner streets and unclogged drainage systems.

“The programme is aimed at empowering economically the youth who have impacted negatively by the pandemic,” he said.

He urged Kenyans to continue observing all the precautionary measures, to curb the spread of the disease that has so far claimed 40 lives in the country.

The death toll increased after four people succumbed to the virus with three having died in Nairobi while one passed on in Mombasa.