A section of Senators has moved to have two estates in Nairobi and Mombasa defined as notorious and placed under total lockdown.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, who is heading the motion, explained that the move was necessary because Eastleigh has been notorious in breaking the Covid-19 preventive measures.
He further added that when he introduced the motion, other senators offered that the Old Town of Mombasa should also be placed under lockdown to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
"Concerned that the business community and citizens of Eastleigh town of Nairobi County have been reported not to be observing the enacted measures like business lacking sanitisers and handwashing areas for customers.
"Now, therefore, the Senate resolves to urge the national government to shut down business operations in Eastleigh until such a time when the Covid-19 curve is flattened in Kenya," read the motion by Malala.
"Eastleigh is at the centre of the economy for Nairobi and if we do not take care of it, I think we shall have a tragedy there. With the lockdown, we are saying that there should be no getting in or out of Eastleigh," explained the senator.
He further noted that as much as the motion was still at the beginning stage, the government would develop a plan for taking care of all the affected people once the lockdown is effected.
"Gradually, we limit the movement and we have a specific population that we are dealing with which we can compel to follow the guidelines. We are aware of the fact that this is the Ramadhan period and so we need to cushion the families that are living there.
"This is a motion. Once it is debated and passed, the resolutions will be taken to the relevant committees for regulations. In coming up with the regulations, that is when they will come up with the nitty gritties of having a budget and the rest," he told Kenyans.co.ke.
"When I introduced the bill, people started suggesting that we can expand to include other regions like Mombasa Old Town," he added.
Eastleigh is the highest Nairobi Estate with positive cases after recording 29 cases on Tuesday, May 5, raising its total cases to 63.
Mombasa Old Town has recorded 39 cases out of the country's total of 535.
This comes even as residents of the two estates openly defy social distancing directives and grudgingly vow not to observe social-distancing.
