2 KMTC Quarantine Escapees Arrested in Bar

An image of quarantine escape
One of the 50 quarantine escapees jumping the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) fence on Tuesday, April 21.

Two quarantine escapees from the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) were arrested on Wednesday, April 22 in a bar at Roysambu, Nairobi.

The two were part of the group of 50 who escaped quarantine at KMTC on Tuesday, April 21 after a security lapse blamed on the heavy rains.

Police narrowed in on the duo at a local bar in Roysambu after a tip-off by Nyumba Kumi officials from the area.

Kenyans quarantined at Kenyatta University protest against the government on Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Kenyans quarantined at Kenyatta University protest against the government on Wednesday, April 15, 2020
File

One of them justified his escape from the facility, "I jumped because I had been there for 72 hours and I was being told to pay Ksh 2,000 every day."

The two men complained about being quarantined for three days without Coronavirus tests being conducted on them.

They also lamented of the Ksh 2,000 that they had to part with after the government set the price as quarantine accommodation fee.

One of the escapees also noted that he was taken into quarantine are being bundled out of a club, "They say Covid-19 is tested using mucus, then why didn't they take my mucus?"

"I was not going for fattening, I was going to be tested for Coronavirus because they took me from a club," said the man.

The two also denied reports that they capitalized on security officials in the quarantine facility taking shelter from the heavy rains on Tuesday, claiming they escaped after the rains had stopped.

In his press briefing on Wednesday, April 22, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe highlighted the escape issue, "An individual who you are aware, because there are even videos, who you are aware jumped the wall at KMTC and is now with you.

"That individual is going to cost you, very very highly. That individual could end up killing your child. It is therefore imperative and important that you call the police.

"It is not possible for people to simply walk out of an institution that has got security forces, that has got people charged with the responsibility of ensuring that people stay within the quarantine facilities," said Kagwe.

Kenyans quarantined at Kenyatta University protest against the government on Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Kenyans quarantined at Kenyatta University protest against the government on Wednesday, April 15, 2020
File
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