Police to tighten grip on enforcement of Covid protocols

Inspector-General of Police Hilary Mutayambai (pictured above) has urged police officers to strictly enforce Covid-19 protocols without fear or favour as was directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday briefing.

The IG said the police will team up with officers drawn from the counties and national government to ensure adherence to the Ministry of Health protocols.

“I have directed National Police Service officers to enforce curfew orders from 10.00 pm to 4.00 am without fear or favour and with strict adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs),” he said in a statement released on Thursday.

He added, “accordingly, we appeal to everyone to wear face masks, keep social distance while in public places to avoid unnecessary travels.”

The IG further directed the police to team up with county government officers to take action against bars, restaurants and shops that will operate past 9.00 pm that they have been directed to close down.

President Uhuru announced various revised Covid-19 protocols after chairing a sixth intergovernmental summit at State House in Nairobi.

The President directed the Ministry of Interior to team up with the counties and other relevant authorities to enforce the measures. Part of the revised rules was the two-month-long ban on political rallies and events, where he directed that whoever wanted to conduct such events must do so in town halls with one-third of the capacity.

The address came a time that the country has posted higher figures of Covid-19 infections, believed to be due to the entry into the second wave. The country’s positivity rate quadrupled in a span of a month, moving from 4 per cent in September to 16 per cent in October.

Kenya posted another higher figure of 1,008 new cases on Thursday evening making the total caseload to scale to 59,595. 21 more people have died from the disease making the total death load to rise 1,072.