UPDATE 8;50 p.m.: Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie was allowed to go home on Sunday, March 29 after honouring a summon by the police over explosive messages he shared on Twitter regarding the government's preparedness for the Covid-19 outbreak in Kenya.
KJ, as he is popularly known from his largely successful comedy career, expressed remorse for his social media posts and did not contest the factuality of his statements, agreeing that they were inaccurate.
He said he would be clarifying and apologising over his post that overstated the number of people under mandatory quarantine in learning institutions in Nairobi claiming the government was sugarcoating the real gravity of the Covid-19 situation in Kenya. He was released before the 7 p.m. curfew deadline together with his entourage.
Dagoretti South MP, John Kiarie, popularly known as KJ was on Sunday, March 29, summoned to the Kabete Police Station regarding his claims of a cover-up by the government over the true state of the Covid-19 outbreak in the county.
Dagoretti DCIO Francis Wanjau confirmed the summoning of the Jubilee Party legislator stating that Kiarie had been taken in for questioning.
“He was summoned 45 minutes ago. We are still grilling him. I can not confirm at this point whether he will be released or detained for the night,” Wanjau told K24 Digital at about 6 p.m. on Sunday.
KJ was summoned over a social media post in which he claimed that there were more people in forced quarantined than those released by the authorities.
In a series of 25 tweets, the legislator painted a grim picture of the country's preparedness to handle the outbreak, sharing details on arrivals quarantined at learning institutions in Nairobi.
He started off by stating that there were 7,000 Kenyans who flew in within a period of 5 days that were isolated at the Lenana School and Kinyanjui Technical Institute.
CS Mutahi Kagwe was forced to rebuke the legislator over his explosive comments describing them as inaccurate and ill-intentioned.
During his press briefing on Sunday, March 29, Mutahi termed John Kiarie's claims as "immoral", saying that only 2,050 people were under mandatory quarantine at 14 facilities across Nairobi.
“‘Trying to gain political mileage out of this disease is as immoral as anyone could ever imagine,” remarked the Health CS.
On March 16, 2020, the DCI issued a stern warning to the public against publishing or sharing unconfirmed information about the virus that could cause panic and anxiety.
Anyone found to be spreading false information is culpable and will be charged with publishing false information that is calculated or results in panic contrary to the law. If found guilty, one could be liable to a fine not exceeding Ksh5 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or to both.
Government spokesperson Col. (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna stated that punitive action would be taken against individuals sharing videos on social media with fake information about the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and the extent of its spread in the country.
