Kenyan doctors and other public policy experts are continuing to use social media platforms to call out the Uhuru Kenyatta government for consistently lying about the capacity they have in managing the Coronavirus pandemic.
After the daily public address, Kenyan doctors called out the Health Cabinet Secretary for claiming that a new 1,000 ICU bed capacity is available in the country, a claim they have challenged with evidence.
Hypothetically let’s say they actually have 1000 beds….where are they gonna get 4000 ICU trailed nurses ???? Coz one ICU bed requires one nurse and they work in shifts. https://t.co/m3Kwcsvh6v
— Makori. (@enoch_makori) March 29, 2020
Data by the Critical Care Society says otherwise. On this one, I’m ready to go and report live from Mbagathi. 😀
— Dr. Mercy Korir (@DrMercyKorir) March 29, 2020
The medics have indicated that the country doesn’t have more than 200 ICU bed capacity nationally, with most of that being in the private health sector.
With the mainstream media deeply in bed with the state and not willing to challenge the official narrative, it has taken common Kenyans now to call out senior government officials lying on TV, even at the risk of being arrested and threatened with infection with the virus.
CS Mutahi Kagwe recently warned anyone challenging the state narrative that they risk being put in the COVID 19 patients ward at Mbagathi Hospital and forced to report live from there, a threat which has also been called out as being insensitive and meant to silence critics without addressing the matter in question.
A list of ICU beds outside Nbi inThe Standard tallies 258. My quick search of Nairobi, which is not exhaustive, shows 153 ICU&HDU beds, for a total of 411. Can the CS enlighten the public where the other 600 are?https://t.co/CBcviZC9cG https://t.co/gEdKUxlILX pic.twitter.com/xnbSfXh5Wf
— David Ndii (@DavidNdii) March 29, 2020
The claim by the Health CS that Kenya now has 1000 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed capacity has been challenged and termed a government-sponsored “Fake News” as it’s not backed by any evidence on the ground.
Even if we had a 1,000 ICU bed capacity, we need at least 4,000 intensive care nurses to handle them, a capacity unavailable locally as most of the Kenyan nurses migrated to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA to look for greener pastures as most were jobless locally.
CS Mutahi Kagwe called for the arrest of Dagoretti South Member of Parliament Kiarie John who called out the government for lying about the figures of infection in the country.
Kenya is currently grappling with inadequate preparation for the crisis as earlier calls by members of the public and airport staff for the state to put measures to prevent a national tragedy were ignored critics arrested.
.@DCI_Kenya summons @RobertAlai to Kiambu Road. Charges NOT disclosed.
— Dennis Itumbi, HSC (@OleItumbi) March 20, 2020
Kenyans started calling for the reduction of flights to China in early January but the government refused to budge, arguing that it would lose a lot in foreign exchange. With infections, the government is set to lose more. Later the government stopped flights but still had Kenya Airways flying to China through Bangkok and even South China Airlines flying directly to Nairobi every week.
Those who shared evidence of the government reluctance to put adequate screening measures at the entry ports were arrested, charged or dismissed from employment.
Bloggers who have questioned the government’s narrative have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
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