This archive report was first published on 17 June 2020.
Kenya has witnessed a mass exodus of Chinese nationals in recent days, with the first 200 people leaving the country on June 11 due to COVID-19 fears.
According to reports, approximately 400 Chinese nationals had purchased their tickets to leave Kenya on June 14, but due to social distancing rules, only 200 could fit on the China Southern Airlines plane.
Lawyer Isaac Okinyo, representing the Chinese nationals, stated that the remaining 200 would leave the country in the course of the week, citing the social distancing rule and new seating arrangements as the reason for the delay.
Okinyo revealed that his clients had initially requested permission to leave the country from the Kenyan government and the Chinese embassy, but were denied. He subsequently took the matter to the High Court, where he obtained an order directing the Kenyan government to allow his clients to leave, citing Kenya's health system as being unable to handle the pandemic.
After receiving a no-objection response from the Foreign Affairs ministry on June 13, Okinyo concluded the arrangements for the evacuation on June 14.
