This archive report was first published on 13 June 2020.
On Saturday, June 13, 2020, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr. Rashid Aman addressed journalists at Afya House in Nairobi, responding to questions about the death of Ohangla musician Abenny Jachiga.
Abenny Jachiga, born Bernard Obonyo, died on Thursday, June 11, 2020, and was buried on Saturday, June 13 at his ancestral home in Kolwa East, Chiga Sub-Location, Kisumu East Constituency.
His burial was initially set for Friday, but hundreds of mourners demanded a decent send-off, prompting police to intervene and eventually lay him to rest at 1:30am Saturday by a contingent of police officers and only five family members.
Dr. Aman stated that the Ministry of Health was yet to ascertain whether Jachiga died of COVID-19, despite the manner in which he was buried and the symptoms he exhibited prompting speculation that the 33-year-old died of the virus.
Dr. Aman revealed that Jachiga’s samples were taken for COVID-19 testing shortly after his death, but he was unaware of the outcome, let alone having knowledge that Jachiga’s samples were extracted after his demise.
He warned mourners against flouting COVID-19 containment measures, stating that if indeed Jachiga died of COVID-19, the mourners created an undesirable situation in which the virus was likely to spread.
Dr. Aman’s comments came on the back of his revelation that two people from Kisumu County caught the virus, with one of the patients coming from Kisumu East Constituency, Jachiga’s hometown.
Kenya registered 152 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s total tally to 3,457, Dr. Aman said Saturday.
Four people died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, and Kenya has so far tested 112,171 samples for COVID-19.
