This archive report was first published on 20 August 2020.
Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma, who was released from an Ethiopian jail after two months, has been transferred to a government isolation facility after testing positive for Covid-19.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Juma contracted the disease at Sostegna Police Station, where he was being held.
On August 20, 2020, the Kenya Embassy in Ethiopia tweeted that it had managed to assist Juma to move to a government-managed isolation facility after he tested positive to COVID-19 at Sostegna police station.
“Kenya Embassy in Ethiopia has managed to assist Collins Juma Osemo alias Yassin Juma, Kenyan journalist arrested in Ethiopia, to move to government manage isolation facility after he tested positive to COVID-19 at Sostegna police station where he was held until yesterday,” a tweet from the Embassy read. — ForeignAffairsKenya (@ForeignOfficeKE) August 20, 2020
Yassin Juma was finally released on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, after weeks of protests by the Kenya government and the media fraternity.
He had been detained for 50 days despite courts in Ethiopia releasing him on bail. No charges had been pressed during that time.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, Juma was detained wrongfully because of a language barrier.
However, Juma's lawyer, Abdulletif Amee, questioned the reason given for Juma's wrongful detention.
“Is it convincing enough to say he was detained because of misunderstanding? Is that a tactic to escape from liability?” Abdulletif posed.
