A man who volunteered to sensitise the public on proper Covid-19 practices has decried being clobbered by the public while going about his duties after being accused of embezzling government funds.
In an interview with NTV on Monday, June 1, John Ng'ang'a, a Kenyan who took it upon himself to compel people to correctly put on their face masks, disclosed that while he was new to the game, he was attacked over the funds that totaled Ksh10 million.
He further explained that he had faced resistance after a section of the public claimed he had reported them to the police for not correctly wearing their face masks and properly observing government directives to curb the pandemic.
"This is my second suit, the first one was torn when I went to the stage and people attacked me claiming that I had gone to ridicule them accusing me of being paid regarding the Ksh4 million tea money. They claimed that I was part of the team that scrupulously shared out the money.
"The story was, however, false because I had not received any money. I just volunteered but they tore my uniform. But I did not give up after they tore it," stated Ng'ang'a.
"They accused me of calling the police to carry out operations over face masks because I run a similar operation," he added.
Ng'ang'a walks from town to town donning a suit made out of sacks and hangs Covid-19 messages on his chest and back. He targets venues where a sanitisation booth has been installed.
"While on my way, I blow a whistle while asking road users to sanitise, wear their masks correctly and maintain social distance. I then head to the bus station where I stay from 6:30 a.m. till 5 p.m. asking Kenyans to pass through the sanitisation booth.
"So far, I have toured Namanga Border, Isinya, Rongai, Kiambu, Rironi, Kangemi, Kiseria, Ngong, Kayole, Pipeline and Athi River among others," he stated.
Ng'ang'a says he took up his new line of duty after the hotel he worked for was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"When you see a person wearing a sack, that person has denied himself food. I can stay for three to four days without a meal not because I lack money," he continued.
In the towns he had toured, he left a number of favourable reviews with the public lauding his patriotic act, which they disclosed had significantly helped reduce the spread of the deadly virus.
Towards the end of April, the Ministry of Health caused an uproar after allocating Ksh10 million from the Ksh1 billion donated by the World Bank to fight Covid-19 on tea and snacks with an additional Ksh6 million going towards airtime for its staff.
Three days later, Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache explained that the media had misrepresented facts regarding the donation claiming that only a small chunk of the Ksh1 billion had been spent.
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