A section of Kenyans sought to heap praise on President Uhuru Kenyatta in a bid to convince him ahead of the sixth Presidential address on the Covid-19 pandemic to be delivered on Monday, July 6.
Uhuru is expected to address measures implemented to curb the spread of the virus including the cessation of movement order in counties including Nairobi and Mombasa.
Other measures Kenyans hope the President will address are the dusk-to-dawn curfew and the re-opening of churches, mosques and religious shrines closed to curb the spread of the virus.
Many of those who reached out to Uhuru via social media pleaded with the President to ease restrictions and open up the country.
Calls have been growing for the economy to open up in recent weeks, with various groups including bar owners, religious leaders and hotel operators stating that the move would help save their businesses from collapse.
"I just want to wish Raila's brother and father of Ngina a good and beautiful night. Sweet dreams sir. You're the best president ever," wrote Goddy Jatelo.
"I appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to lift the cessation of movement and the curfew. Right now, we don't have money, and that's not a good thing," urged city lawyer Steve Ogolla.
Religious leaders have pledged to ensure strict compliance with social distancing and wearing masks among other guidelines once houses of worship are re-opened.
The Council of Governors (CoG) had on June 26 proposed guidelines on re-opening of churches; including discouraging of church choirs and sanitisation of venues after each service.
Others called for the economy to be opened up as many Kenyans had lost their sources of income due to the financial downturn occasioned by the pandemic.
It was noted, for instance, that many people in Nairobi who lost their sources of revenue would wish to travel upcountry to cut down on various costs, but the cessation of movement order made it impossible.
Bar owners, on the other hand, appealed to Uhuru to allow them to open up as the closure during the past three months had driven their businesses to the brink of collapse and forced them to lay off workers.
"We are thankful for the directives being implemented by the Ministry of Health but we also want to appeal to be allowed to open up within the stipulated hours.
"We will comply and close before the curfew. Our people are hurting. Going hungry one day is difficult, now imagine going hungry for four months.
"We also cannot run anywhere because we are stuck here with the cessation of movement order. All we can do is cry out to Uhuru to hear us," stated the chairman of the Mombasa Bar Owners Association at a press briefing on Sunday, July 5.
Watch the bar owners appeal to Uhuru in the video below:
