Govt accused of causing confusion with conflicting directives on coronavirus

Bishop David Kodia of the ACK Bondo Diocese has expressed concern over the numerous directives being issued by the government concerning the spread of the novel coronavirus.

According to Bishop Kodia, some of the directives are only causing confusion and unnecessary panic amongst the Kenyan populace.

He lamented that the government, both at national and county level, has in the recent past issued numerous conflicting directives some of which he termed “unattainable and confusing.”

Prof. Kodia, speaking to Citizen Digital, strongly opposed – for instance – the directive by some of the county governments to close church gatherings.

He argued that churches are where people can run to “seek moral, social and spiritual support during calamities such as the current Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Closing church gatherings is not a better solution because there is no way that a church gathering can be seen to be worse than a group of people traveling in public service vehicles,” said the prelate.

Bishop Kodia hence maintained that they will not close their churches but will ensure they comply with other government directives on personal hygiene.

He further added that their churches are open to anybody willing to attend, noting that it is impractical to conduct services through social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp since not all worshipers can access them.

Kenya, according to Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, has seven confirmed positive cases of the coronavirus.