Kilifi County official breaks into tears as he blasts deputy governor over coronavirus

Kilifi County official breaks into tears as he blasts deputy governor over coronavirus

A video of an emotional Kilifi County official blasting Deputy Governor Gideon Saburi, who is suspected to have contracted the coronavirus and has declined to self quarantine, has emerged online.

The Kilifi staffer, in the video, castigates Mr. Saburi for freely interacting with fellow county officials and attending social gatherings despite being aware that he had just returned from Germany — a coronavirus-hit country.

The man, now only identified as Mulei, also narrated the occasions under which he interacted with Mr. Saburi, further stating that he was the one that recommended the deputy county boss be isolated.

“It’s painful…It’s painful…we have gone into quarantine, it’s a bit heavy to carry but there’s no other way we can do it. We shook hands with this guy on Monday, March 16 at the office, and then we had another meeting with him somewhere else,” he recalled.

“And it is me who told the department to take this guy into quarantine and to test him because I felt in my heart something was wrong. It was like a joke but now it has come to reality that our deputy governor is corona-positive.”

A bitter and teary Mulei also intimated of a possible plot to remove Mr. Saburi from office, comparing him to “an animal and a killer”.

He also expressed worry at the uncertainty of whether or not he could have contracted the disease from Mr. Saburi and, in turn, spread it on to his family members.

“We don’t need him anymore. How can you sit with the governor and you know you’re sick? How can you sit and shake hands with us and you know you’re sick? What kind of an animal are you?” posed Mulei.

“We will impeach you, deputy governor, you’re useless. And you’re in luck (Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi) Kagwe said you will be taken to jail, otherwise we would’ve stoned you. You’re an animal.”

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) March 22, 2020

Mr. Saburi is set to be charged in court for defying a government directive to self quarantine after he returned to the country from a trip to Germany.

The government had earlier ordered that any person entering the country from a destination with confirmed cases of coronavirus should proceed on self quarantine.

It would however emerge that Saburi ignored the precautionary measure and went ahead to attend several weddings and funerals.

The deputy governor is also understood to have mingled with county staff in complete disregard of the government directive aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

In a press briefing on Sunday, CS Kagwe indicated that the deputy governor has already been placed under forced quarantine, and would be arraigned after the 14-day quarantine period.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has also since placed himself under self-quarantine after coming into contact with his deputy.

Governor Kingi, in a press statement released on Sunday, however stated that he had also been tested and the results came back negative of Covid-19.

He added that he will nevertheless continue to work from home until the expiry of the mandatory 14 days – which began Thursday last week — as advised by health professionals as a precaution for containing the pandemic.

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coronavirus Kilifi County Gideon Saburi

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