Samson Rutto, a Kenyan athlete, was forced out of a matatu at Mau Summit, Nakuru County on Tuesday, March 24 as he traveled to Eldoret after arriving from India.
Rutto had landed in the country on Sunday, March 22 and was screened at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) before he proceeded to travel in a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) to Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County where he is based for self-quarantine.
Passengers reportedly overheard Rutto discussing his trip to India on the phone and forced him out of the vehicle before authorities were called in to take him into isolation.
He was taken to Mau Summit Police Station and, later, Kenya Industrial Training Institute in Nakuru.
A marathon Rutto was scheduled to participate in was cancelled in India over the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, prompting the athlete to return to Kenya.
At the JKIA, Rutto was reportedly cleared and informed to abide by directives on self-quarantine.
The report surfaced even as the government scrambled to implement a directive on mandatory quarantine for all visitors arriving in the country.
The directive was issued after it emerged that the success of previous orders demanding that individuals self-quarantine could not be guaranteed.
Confusion over the directive issued by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe had seen visitors stranded for hours after arrival at the JKIA before being given the choice of being quarantined, at their own cost, in various private hotels or taken to designated government facilities such as Mbagathi District Hospital.
Kagwe on Monday, March 23 apologised to the inconvenienced passengers even as he sought to assure the country that measures were being put in place to streamline the quarantine process.
The government on Tuesday, March 24 then shared an official list of quarantine hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa where visitors are to be taken.
Kagwe had urged hotels taking part in the program to subsidise their accommodation costs by as much as 75% in light of the pandemic.
The hotels include Hill Park Hotel, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Nairobi, Safari Park, Pride Inn Hotels, Jacaranda Hotel, Trademark Hotel, Four Points Sheraton, Boma Hotel, KMTC's, Kenyatta University and Kenya School of Government.
Others are Crown Plaza, Airport, Mombasa Beach Hotel, La Mada Hotel, Concord Hotel, University of Nairobi, KCB Leadership Centre, Cooperative University, The Clarion Hotel, The Comfort Hotel, Mashpark Hotel, Eka Hotel and Land Mark Suites.
