Uhurus anger at son who put granny Mama Ngina at risk by sneaking out

President Uhuru Kenyatta has revealed how one of his sons flouted measures set in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

The Head of State said his son sneaked out of the house in Mombasa at night and went out to have fun, oblivious of the risk he was posing to the other family members including Mama Ngina Kenyatta who is aged 86.

Kenyatta said after the incident was reported to him he lectured the son, whom he did not name, for failing to take  personal responsibility in the face of the current Covid-19 pandemic.

“I have a young man who was travelling to Mombasa with his mother when all of this [cessation of movement] happened, so they were caught out in Mombasa and because of these confinement rules we have put they can’t move back.

“He decided one day that he wants to go out and I asked him a personal question: ‘You have gone out, you have had your fun and enjoyed yourself, but now you have come back and you’re with your grandmother, who is 80 plus. If anything happens to your grandmother as a result of what you have done how will you live with yourself?” posed the President, who was speaking in an interview with the Nation.

Kenyatta revealed the incident to underscore the importance of personal responsibility which the government continues to champion for in the fight against the coronavirus.

“It is that son of mine I was telling you… He has to ask himself: ‘Your grandmother’s life is in your hands… if something was to happen to her, just because of one evening out to go see your girlfriend…” added the President.

During the interview he reiterated that individual responsibility remains key in combating the current pandemic, even as he further gave an indication of the government’s quest to reopen the economy.

“As we come closer to reopening our economy, there shall be a factor of personal responsibility because we have seen a second wave of this disease. Germany is a perfect example,” he said.

In his address to the Nation on May 24, Kenyatta hinted at a possibility of relaxing current COVID-19 containment measures including the dusk-to-dawn curfew and cessation of movement, saying that at some point every Kenyan would have to take responsibility to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“We will not continue with the lockdown and the curfew, I have told health officials and my ministers that they should start telling Kenyans that we cannot be under a curfew or lockdown forever… You have a responsibility to ensure you protect yourself, you should know that if you don’t obey the measures, you are not only endangering yourself, but those around you,” he said.