UPDATE 2:20 p.m.: Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna states that his office was aware of the reports of two deaths related to Covid-19 in the country on the evening of Sunday, April 5, but the deaths had not been formally communicated.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Oguna stated that the government had no reason to hide any information about the virus from Kenyans, and that regarding the reports of the deaths, formal confirmation was pending.
"We heard of the two deaths but we had to wait for official communication from the private facilities," Oguna told this writer.
On Sunday evening, April 5, Peter Nduati, the founder of Resolution Health announced that he had lost one of his close friends who had succumbed to the deadly Covid-19.
In an emotional statement on Twitter, the billionaire stated that his friend had been in isolation and passed on on Sunday.
"This Covid-19 virus is real guys. Today I lost a dear friend of mine. He was not in any of the ‘risky demographic’ ie, no co-morbidity and he is below 60 years. He was in isolation and passed on today," Nduati stated.
His tweet has since been re-tweeted over 1000 times and has gained more than 500 comments, with most asking why the government did not announce the death during their daily briefings on Sunday.
"It was not part of the statistics shared by the Ministry of Health, why? Are they hiding some info from us? This is the second tweet I'm reading today about death but not announced or this information is a hoax? We need #TruthBeTold," Allan enquired.
"Sorry for your loss. I've seen several Covid-19 deaths on my timeline but the govt made no mention of them today," Edward Muhoho weighed in.
"So sorry for your loss. The question is why these cases are not being mentioned," Kerry commented.
"It looks like govt statistics are not correct," Stanley Otieno stated.
Efforts to contact Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna and Health CS Mutahi Kagwe to clarify on the matter did not bear fruit.
Yet again, in another post, a netizen by the user Peris Lily Mutua disclosed that she had lost a friend to the virus.
Mutua claimed that the man's wife and children were still in quarantine.
"We can't go to comfort them. They are mourning alone, scared that their whole family might be wiped out," she stated on her Twitter page.
Though a section of Kenyans has expressed doubt in numbers of Covid-19 victims issued by the government, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Thursday, April 2, maintained that the government is issuing correct figures as required by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
