This archive report was first published on 29 August 2021.
Scourge of Fake Covid-19 Certificates in Nairobi ¶
August 29, 2021
Nairobi's River Road, infamous for its proliferation of contraband products, has become a hub for the sale of fake Covid-19-free certificates.
The certificates, which should be issued by select laboratories under government guidelines, are now being dispensed by cunning businessmen in nondescript cybercafes at a fee.
Truck and matatu drivers, as well as travelers to various East African destinations, are the main customers for these fake certificates.
The Nation acquired two Covid-19-free certificates after parting with some thousand shillings and without undergoing a test.
The biggest currency required in this trade is trust, and so the sellers ask their customers some teasing questions and keenly study their body language for harmless demeanor before producing the documents.
At the terminus for vehicles plying the Tanzania route, a bustling environment, touts rush to meet possible clients.
When asked where to get a Covid-19-free certificate to facilitate travel to Tanzania, one tout posed, “Unataka tufanye magendo?” (Do you want us to flout the law?)
He was in a drunken stupor and later led the Nation to a small stall that had a combination of mobile money transfer shop, boutique, and a bureau.
The man in an Irish ivy cap, named Mwende, received them and was unsure of the Nation's identity and whether they posed any danger to him.
“Should I trust you?” Mwende posed as the three of them giggled.
He explained that the certificates were issued by the government and what they were doing was illegal, but they assisted hundreds of people who needed them conveniently, especially bus drivers who went in and out of the country.
Mwende asked for a down payment of Sh500 and then waited for about an hour to collect the document.
He opened his desktop and scanned through files, moving the cursor below a file titled Curriculum Vitae and opening another named Covid-19 certificate.
He asked, “Do you want one for Lancet or Gertrude? The government has specific facilities. Nairobi Hospital is another option.”
After a brief thought, the Nation told him to choose one that looked more legit, and Mwende opened a template with the logo of Gertrudes Hospital and began editing.
He replaced George Gathogo with Anita Tesot, reduced the age, and changed the gender.
The document said the Nation's samples were collected at Gertrudes Hospital on August 7 and the results received two days later.
“Won’t this stamp not give me away?” the Nation asked when Mwende handed over the printout.
“Not at all, that’s a digital stamp,” he assured.
The Nation felt cheated because Mwende had earlier used the issue of stamp to push up the cost.
Either way, the Nation had what they wanted, a SARS-CoV-2 result that was negative in capital letters, as well as e-gene and s-gene results.
The authority the paper carried was fake, but that's what cross-border drivers used as a pass as they traveled to Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and even Burundi, without being detected.
The Covid-19 committee places the transport sector as a key area in terms of transmission of the disease, and with fake documents, transporters are unwittingly moving the virus.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia announced in May 2020 that truck drivers would need to obtain a certificate from the MoH confirming that they were Covid-19-free before being allowed to travel outside the country.
However, the drivers say the bi-monthly walk into the designated laboratories or hospitals to be tested 48 hours before their scheduled travel is only an inconvenience but also an expensive exercise.
The easy way out is the River Road route, where they pay just a fraction of Sh3,000 charged at the Kenyatta National Hospital for the service.
Private laboratories charge up to Sh7,000.
One bus driver named Jack wondered when “this nightmare” would end; when they would no longer worry about the long queues at the Namanga border for Covid-19 certificate checks and constant search for the paperwork after every two weeks.
“Cross-border drivers have really been affected by the pandemic. Many quit their jobs due to the stampede we used to experience at the border for the better part of 2020. Things are now more organised but not back to normal,” he said.
