PS Defies Uhuru's Orders on China Evacuations

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau has stated that the government will not evacuate students living in Wuhan, China, which is the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus.

According to a report by Nation on Friday, February 7, Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau stated that the Kenyans are "safe where they are".

"China is facilitating Kenyans [there] in all possible ways, and keeping them safe as the government looks at options available to respond effectively for the best interest of the students," the PS was quoted. 

Current foreign affairs CS Macharia Kamau addressing a press conference in New York on August 2, 2015.

The backdrop of this proclamation was the recent barrage of concerns raised by Kenyan students in Wuhan about their need to travel home. 

Media reports have it that over 70 learners could be stuck at the town which has witnessed 636 deaths and 31,000 infections from the virus.

However, President Uhuru Kenyatta had said in a US forum that they would be evacuated, a statement which has been contradicted by PS Macharia. 

"We are also working; because we have got a good number of our students there, to see how we can support them and find out how we can also, when they do come and insist they are coming, ensure that they are put in quarantine for the required 14 days and ensure that they are not going to spread that virus around,” President Kenyatta stated during the forum at the Atlantic Council.

President Uhuru Kenyatta speaking at the Atlantic Council Forum in Washington, DC on February 5, 2020.

The pronouncement comes after pleas from Kenyans stranded in China went viral. The students who were featured in a video beseeched the government to evacuate them.

“Mimi ni Mkenya na nalipa ushuru, niko katika mjii wa wuhan, anaomba serikali niweze kuwa evacuated (I’m a tax-paying Kenyan in Wuhan. I’m pleading with the government to evacuate us).

“Coronavirus is my enemy, I'm pleading with my government to consider our safety. I'm pleading with the government to evacuate us from Wuhan city, the situation is becoming unbearable," some students spoke.

“Some of us have medical conditions that need frequent medical attention but because of the outbreak we are stranded and cannot find a way out,” another weighed in.

A report authored by CNN on January 29, 2020, highlighted some of the countries that had evacuated their citizens after the outbreak.

These include the US which evacuated 200 citizens and Japan. Australia, Canada, South Korea, and India all had chartered flights ready to evacuate a significant proportion of their citizens.

To date, there is no African country that has repatriated its citizens, a move that may be attributed to the lack of necessary infrastructure to handle the virus.

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