This archive report was first published on 12 June 2020.
On June 12, 2020, a group of 25 people from Mombasa arrived in Siaya to bury a relative, but their journey was cut short when health authorities and police intercepted them at the Kenya Medical Training Center in Siaya.
The group, which included the deceased's widow, Ann Wekesa, and her three young children, had ferried the body from Mombasa to Sakwa for burial without COVID-19 free certificates.
According to the County Director of Public Health, Kennedy Orwenjo, the 25 individuals were not placed in quarantine but were being processed and screened to determine whether they met the quarantine threshold.
"We are still trying to determine whether they meet the threshold of being quarantined for 14 days," Orwenjo said.
However, one of the mourners, Antony Omondi, disputed the number of people being held, claiming it was 23, not 25. He also questioned why they were allowed to travel from Mombasa without COVID-19 free certificates.
"They are telling us we have been brought here because we didn't have covid-19 free certificates but if this a requirement, why were we allowed through so many roadblocks all the way from Mombasa?" Omondi posed.
It is alleged that the mourners only had a letter from the Chief in Tononoka and no other documents from the government, despite COVID-19 safety guidelines dictating that not more than 15 people are allowed to accompany a body being ferried for burial.
