Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown is a famous line from the play King Henry the Fourth, Part Two, by renowned English poet William Shakespeare.
It simply means that a person in charge, or in a leadership role, has to bear many responsibilities and that it is a very tough job, in this particular case, Mutahi Kagwe's role as the country Health Cabinet Secretary (CS).
His role as the tip of the spear in Kenya's war on the deadly coronavirus has cast a huge spotlight on him, meaning that his every waking move is placed under a microscope akin to the very one used to identify the very virus he's fighting.
This came to the fore on Wednesday, April 15, during his daily update press briefing, when some of his actions were highlighted as serious breaches to the very measure he put in place to combat the spread of Covid-19
For starters, he took off his protective face mask at the very start of the presser, only to announce later on the extreme importance of donning face masks.
Interestingly, a Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 41 signed by the Health CS indicated that failure to wear a mask while using public or private transport and failure to maintain social distance are among the offences that will attract the penalties.
“This is a new requirement that must be complied with. People must wear masks in public places,” he further reiterated during a press briefing on April 7.
Still, on the subject of masks, the Health CS went out of his way to explain the proper handling of personal masks but ended up handling his own mask in a manner that was a clear 'preaching water and drinking wine' scenario.
While urging Kenyans to exercise caution when it came to purchasing the potentially life-saving masks, he handled his own in a manner that hopefully implied that he was going to dispose of it following the presser, having caressed the interior part of the mask continuously using hands that were yet to be sanitised.
In a dark & twisted form of saving the best for last moment, his most glaring blunder came just minutes before he ended his presser when he coughed right into his right hand and simply carried on hoping the hawk-eyed Kenyans weren't on alert.
"Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow. Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, clean your hands with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol," reads a statement sent out by the Ministry of Health (MoH) regarding preventive measures.
Hopefully, the CS was alive to his mistake and sanitised soon after the presser, bearing in mind that his laborious job sees him come into contact with countless surfaces as well as people.
CS Kagwe's efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19 have been nothing short of heroic, drawing plaudits from numerous nations.
He could thus borrow a leaf from his counterpart from the Education docket, George Magoha, who was taking no chances during his presser on April 13, at some point, he even blasted some members of the press for openly flouting the safety measures set out to combat Covid-19.
Watch CS Kagwe's fails in the video compilation from his April 15, presser below:
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