A motorist went viral on Thursday, June 4 when a video surfaced of him confronting police officers after being stopped and fined for not wearing a face mask.
The angry motorist observed that of the six police officers at the roadblock, only one seemed to have a mask, accusing the policemen of hypocrisy.
He argued that he was without a mask in a private area, demanding to know why the officers were mask-less in public.
Wearing a mask, the officer who wrote him down tried to silence the man even as he pressed for answers on the compliance of Covid-19 directives by police officers.
"You're writing papers for me, at the same time this officer doesn't have a mask. This one doesn't have a mask. A good thing starts with you people.
"How can you come to my car telling me I don't have a mask when you officers yourselves don't have masks.
One of the officers decided to wear a mask as the motorist continued to rant to the officers, telling them to observe the directives themselves.
He went on to use an analogy of a father and child, asking how the father could ask the child to do something he couldn't do himself.
The viral video emerged even as the police continue to step up enforcement of directives including wearing a face mask following a directive from Vigilance House.
A directive informing officers across the country to arrest those found not wearing face masks was shared on May 13, 2020.
At the time, Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai stated that Kenyans had been given enough time to adjust to wearing masks in public areas as directed by the Ministry of Health.
“Police officers have been asking Kenyans to wear face masks. We’re going to take another step to make sure the law is followed.
“But before police enforce the regulations, I appeal to Kenyans to take the initiative to wear the masks. It is no longer an advisory …as the rules have been gazetted,” he asserted.
Those found not wearing a mask risk a fine of up to Ksh20,000.
