President Uhuru Kenyatta and Kenyan delegates underwent Covid-19 tests prior to flying out to the UK on Tuesday, July 27.
England defended the move, stating that it was adamant about protecting its Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and royal family members who would interact with Uhuru and his entourage.
This was after the UK retained Kenya and other nations on a Red List Alert and banned their citizens from travelling into the country, owing to Covid-19 transmissions.
"The whole delegation took Covid tests and were exempted from quarantine.
"The tests were mandatory for everyone in Uhuru's delegation, including the President, ahead of the UK trip," a UK official told Business Daily.
England demanded the group be subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction tests (PCR) which detect early symptoms of Covid-19.
Uhuru was vaccinated with the Astrazeneca vaccine in March 2021, at State House Nairobi and urged Kenyans to follow suit and curb the spread of the virus. He also ordered the Cabinet and other government officials to be vaccinated.
"Some Kenyans have formed certain theories about vaccination and its effects. Although vaccination is free-of-charge and no one will be forced to get it, some education about it is crucial,” Uhuru stated.
The President will be in the UK for three days and will co-chair the Global Education Summit alongside the UK Prime Minister. The event will raise over Ksh 500 billion (USD5 billion) channelled towards improving access to education worldwide.
He will also announce multi-million deals aligned with his Big 4 Agenda.
Uhuru will finally grace an event at West London’s Kew Gardens, to celebrate the Kenya-UK Year of Climate Action, and Kenya’s leadership on climate change in Africa ahead of COP26.
The two leaders, Boris and Uhuru, held several virtual tours and meetings in 2021 to discuss education and development agendas.
