Media ought to call out leaders who don’t wear masks in public

A stately guard stood at the entrance to Naivas Mountain Mall supermarket on Thika Road.

He did not greet me, as he normally does. “Mzee, kwa sharia iko sasa (Sir, according to the new rule),” he said imperiously, “you cannot enter here without a mask”.

He then raised his rungu (club) to point out a desk at the entrance where some pretty girls were selling masks and doling out drops of hand sanitisers.

That was after April 14, when the Inspector-General of Police said his officers would henceforth arrest anyone found not wearing a mask in public.

Earlier, on April 6, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, relying on the powers conferred upon him by Section 36 of the Public Health Act, had issued the Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 41 that published the rules, including the wearing of masks, to halt the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Since then, the Nation has been running a “Weak Link” series of stories that expose areas where the safety rules are being breached.

The headline for the story on Monday reads, “Anti-virus rules: Nairobians who care less about Covid-19 rules.” It goes on to say the rules are increasingly being breached.

WATCHDOG ROLE

But the most exemplary story is the headline story on the front-page of the Nation last Friday. “What social distancing? How not to fight Covid-19,” the story says.

Below the headline is a picture of Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi, County Police Commander Patrick Lumumba and other officials during the distribution of masks in Maua town on April 23.

The Nation called them out on their misbehaviour, which violates the ‘Kagwe Rules’ and weakens the war against Covid-19.

The picture story says they appeared to make “two steps back” in the fight against the coronavirus because they failed to enforce social distancing. “The two men, who should know better, also organised a public gathering, contrary to the Public Health Act.”

Calling out the violators of the rules should be a function of the media reporting the pandemic that has disrupted our lives.

The Nation needs to do more of this type of calling out, especially with regard to the most disobeyed of the rules — the wearing of masks.

The coronavirus is spread by droplets that can spray into the air when those infected talk, cough or sneeze. The virus can enter the body through the eyes, nose and mouth.

The WHO, not just the Kagwe Rules, recommends covering the mouth and nose with a mask to avoid catching Covid-19 or infecting other people.

MASK OFFENDERS

One of the “We are the Cure” series of health messages that the Nation has been running stresses the importance of wearing masks. “We don’t know who’s infected, so let’s act like we all are,” the message says.

It’s surprising, though, that a number of our leaders have, at times, been defying the rule on wearing masks. Let’s take Mr Kagwe himself.

He did not, for example, wear a mask on April 20, when he appeared at a press briefing at Kenyatta National Hospital, where he announced that 11 more Covid-19 cases had been detected.

All the other officials around him were wearing masks. Mr Kagwe also did not wear a mask on April 13, when he gave an update on Covid-19 at Afya House, and on April 18, 22 and 27, among other occasions.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi has also been wearing her mask on and off. For example, during her briefing on April 19, 21 and 22, Dr Mwangangi arrived with her mask on but removed it, leaving it dangling from her neck.

MARKETING IMPUNITY

The rules say wearing a mask means covering the mouth and nose. Other mask offenders include Chief Justice David Maraga, Interior and Coordination of National Government CS Fred Matiang’i, Transport CS James Macharia and Agriculture CS Peter Munya.

The list is long but the point is, for these leaders not to wear a mask when they should is not only an offence but also dampens the fight against Covid-9.

By not wearing a mask, they are popularising impunity and telling us subtly that the rules are for little people.

The Nation should call them out — just as it did with Governor Murungi and Mr Lumumba.

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