Kenya hits back at ‘discriminatory’ UK, imposes tough travel measures

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 3- In a rare bold move, Kenya on Saturday said all passengers originating or transiting from the United Kingdom to the country will undergo a 2 week mandatory isolation at a government facility, at their own cost.

Kenyan nationals are however exempted, Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a detailed, hard hitting statement.

While in isolation, the passengers will undergo PCR COVID-19 tests twice; on the second and 8 day of being quarantined.

This was in response to a discriminatory travel ban issued by the United Kingdom on Friday, placing Kenya on her red list alongside 35 other countries among them Somalia and Tanzania.

“This decision by the United Kingdom will have deep and far-reaching consequences on Kenya-United Kingdom trade, travel, tourism and security cooperation,” reads the statement by Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is led by Amb. Raychelle Omamo.

“The decision is particularly disturbing in light of the fact that the United Kingdom and Kenya enjoy a strong and long-lasting relationship embedded in a strategic partnership that has multiple dimensions including health, education, security, travel, trade, and people to people relations.”

On Friday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said Kenya had recorded cases of a variant of COVID-19 from the UK.

According to reports, it was brought to Kenya by the UK soldiers training in Laikipia County.

But even with that, Kenya had turned a blind eye, and continued to allow flights from the United Kingdom into the country, despite calls for more stringent measures

The only requirement for passengers from the UK was a certificate showing they are COVID-19 negative, taken at least 90 hours before traveling.

“Kenya remains of the opinion that in solidarity and in seeking to build back better from this pandemic, the Government of the United Kingdom would have offered support to Kenya through the provision of vaccines,” reads the statement by MFA.

On Friday, Kenya stopped private importation of COVID-19 vaccines, after a wave of influential Kenyans openly expressed support for the Russian made vaccine, Sputnik V.

Deputy President William Ruto was vaccinated with the Russia’s vaccine.

“To ensure the transparency and accountability in the vaccination process, and to protect the integrity of the country, the government is effective today closing the window of private sector importation, distribution and administration of vaccines, until such a time there is greater transparency and accountability in the entire process,” Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said.

-Vaccine Apartheid-

With the UK’s actions against Kenya and 39 other countries put on their ‘red list’, the country warned of a growing worrying trend by countries producing the vaccine practicing a form of “vaccine nationalism, possessiveness and discrimination, coupled with a vaccine hoarding attitude that can only be described as a form of vaccine apartheid.”

“During a global pandemic, such as the world is witnessing, it is difficult to imagine what could inform such behavior by nations.”

Kenya noted that, “vaccine apartheid, coupled with reckless calls for vaccine passports while not making the vaccines available to all nations, widens existing inequalities and makes it near impossible for the world to win the war against the pandemic.”

“Vaccine producing countries like the United Kingdom must remember that this virus did not originate in Africa, it knows no geographic boundaries, neither has it existed long enough for human kind to understand what will morph into in the future.”