Deputy President William Ruto finds himself under siege once again after a section of lawmakers led by ODM Chair John Mbadi called for his Weston Hotel to be turned into a government quarantine facility.
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The Mps led by Mbadi first asked DP Ruto to extend his generosity to the government and give up his hotel as a quarantine facility but sensing the obvious negative response to that request, steeped up their call, noting that the facility sits on public land.
“We all know that the land that Weston Hotel sits on was illegally acquired so it is Christian to donate such a hotel to help the government tackle this crisis,” Mbadi noted.
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The government has issued orders for forceful quarantine of all passengers traveling into the country from abroad because the self-quarantine option did not work as Kenyans continued to violate them.
The government has been booking hotels and sending other arriving passengers to designated quarantine facilities but all those seem not to be enough and DP Ruto is under attack from the legislators due to his past acts of generosity.
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The leaders led by Mbadi claim that it is now the best time for Ruto to show his act of kindness to Kenyans who are suffering.
The Suba Mp, Mbadi, pointed out the suffering that Kenyans from abroad have to undergo while Weston Hotel rests easy, making huge profits.
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“Weston Hotel is just near Wilson Airport and that is a very good location to have a quarantine facility. It would help a lot of people,” Mbadi emphasized.
A night at one of the hotels, according to the officials, would cost them Sh10,000 (working out to Sh140,000 for two weeks) which might, however, be understated as the prevailing asking prices on booking platforms are nearly double the stated amount.
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Groups of arriving Kenyans and foreigners with residence permits that had been taken to Boma Inn protested that they could not afford Sh12,000 a day, which works out to Sh168,000 for the two weeks. They were later moved to Kenya School of Government where even more confusion ensued.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe had indicated on Sunday that returning Kenyans would be allowed back home on condition that they meet the costs of being kept under a quarantine facility for two weeks.
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Among the visitors were various nationalities who had figured that they could still reach Kenya despite massive passenger flight cancellations from destinations that were already hard-hit by the coronavirus.
After more than three hours of haggling with the immigration and security officials, the travelers were allowed to go home, but with strict instructions to self-isolate for the night and present themselves at the Kenya Medical Training College campus within the precincts of Kenyatta National Hospital.
Also see: https://updates.co.ke/photos-most-matatus-defy-coronavirus-safety-measures-issued-by-the-government/
“It was very sad that I was not able to see my children even after getting home,” one of the passengers said, after the authorities confirmed that he would not be going back home after all.
Mp Mbadi highlighted such cases of suffering from Kenyans and urged the Deputy President not to stand in the way of such a transformative idea.
The Deputy President hasn’t responded to the recent developments.
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