This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
On March 12, 2020, Kenya announced its first Covid-19 case, prompting several countries to offer medical equipment donations. China, the first country to be hit by the pandemic, was among the top donors. On April 5, Ambassador Sarah Serem of the Kenyan embassy in China received a consignment of medical supplies for front-line workers, which arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on April 20 aboard a China Southern Airlines Flight number CZ633.
However, upon arrival, an individual named Festus Odhiambo, who claimed to be an employee of Songhong Kenya Logistics Limited, presented a letter from Fasomo Limited, which allegedly owned the donated medical equipment. The letter, signed by Mr. Dennis Manyasi, appointed Odhiambo as the authorized clearing agent for the goods.
The items included 6,000 pieces of N95 masks, 500 pieces of isolation gowns, 3,000 pieces of surgical masks, 500 pieces of surgical protective suits, 40 pieces of thermal thermometers, and 85,000 pieces of normal masks. The Kenya Union of Nurses and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union were up in arms, with the nurses threatening to go on strike for lack of protective gear.
Despite the government's promises, medical workers were still ill-equipped to deal with the virus. In the weeks that followed, dozens of nurses and doctors would contract the virus, putting the country at greater risk. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sounded the alarm bell, stating that they had not received any official communication regarding the arrival of the donations from China.
