March 19, 2024

Initiate Home Based Quarantine, SUPKEM Tells Government

SUPKEM Mombasa Branch Deputy Chair Muhdhar Khitamy. Image: Mwakwaya Raymond

By PETER KOMBE
Email: thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), Mombasa branch has called on the government to look for an alternative solution instead of the current quarantine Kenyans are subjected to.

Speaking to the media in Mombasa on Friday, SUPKEM deputy chair Muhdhar Khitamy recommended for a home based quarantine for people testing positive of COVID-19.

The Muslim cleric says putting a whole family to a forced quarantine is tantamount to a punishment.
“We do recommend that those people testing positive should be placed under a home based quarantine. Police officers chief and assistant chiefs can then man their residential houses throughout the quarantine period,” he noted.

The council claims Kenyans sent to forceful quarantine are not only exposed to torture but treated inhumanely.
The SUPKEM deputy boss further adds that treating the pandemic is quite an expensive undertaking which the ordinary Kenyan cannot afford.
Said the deputy chair “This pandemic has led to a massive job losses to the locals. They cannot afford to pay the shillings 2000 per a day as quarantine fees charged in government isolation centres,”

Inside an isolation centre, Image: (Courtesy)

On the issue of total lockdown as recommended by Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho, the cleric wants the county government to develop a clear plan on how the current over 1.3 million population will be fed if the county goes the lock-down way.
He claims only a few people within the entire county have confirmed receiving Mpesa transactions and food supplies from the county emergency response committee.
Khitamy also recommends that in case of a lockdown people should be allowed to go out in case of emergencies such as seeking for health concerns.
“The county government should come out clear on this issue. What methodology will be used so that all households in all the corners of this county can receive food,” he suggested.

Prof Mohammed Hyder Matano. Image: (Courtesy)

Concerning the late scholar Prof Mohammed Hyder the deputy chair said he was a man of repute and wisdom.
He says the late Hyder will be remembered for his scholarly advises amongst the Muslim community.

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