Kenya reopens churches, limits worship to only 100 people

Nairobi, Kenya | PROSSY NANSUBUGA |  President Uhuru Kenyatta has reopened churches and other places of worship in the country with a maximum of 100 people. This was during a nation address at the Harambee House on Monday 6, July 2020.

According to Uhuru, churches are open for congregational and individual worship in strict conformity with all applicable guidelines in protocal and self regulation that have been developed by the Inter-faith council – a religious council that was appointed on national response of the corona pandemic.

“Places of worship will commence phased re-opening for congregational worship and public  worship in strict conformity with all applicable guidelines and protocols, including the self-regulating guidelines developed by the Inter-Faith Council. Only a maximum of one hundred #participants will be allowed at each worship ceremony and not be more than one hour,” he said.

The president also added that Church related activities like Sunday schools shall remain suspended until further notice and persons to worship are slated from age 13 to 57 without underlying health conditions.

“Sunday Schools and Madrassas shall remain suspended until further notice, and in-person worship shall not include congregants under the age of thirteen years or above the age of fifty-eight (58) years or persons with underlying conditions.”

Meanwhile, nationwide curfew has been extended for another 30 days as Kenya’s confirmed COVID-19 cases now stand at 7,889 with 160 deaths.

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FULL SPEECH

Fellow Kenyans,

When I last addressed you on the 6th of June this year, the nation was confronted with a dilemma of TWO RIGHTS over the COVID-19 crisis. The two dominant positions were whether to re-open the country or not.

One side of the divide presented an economic argument.  They wanted us to re-open the country and save the economy.

They argued that COVID was a health crisis alright; but it was also an economic crisis at the core.  If we take care of the economics of Corona, they argued, the health crisis will be easier to manage; more so with the necessary protocols in place.

The opposite side tabled a compelling case against re-opening the country on the 6th of June, 2020.  Made up of medical scientists and researchers, this group of experts argued that the country was not ready.

Their models pointed to a soaring crisis if we re-opened without the necessary health protocols.  According to them, a series of irreducible minimums had to be met before we could consider easing the containment measures in place.

After much reflection, my Administration opted for the health argument over the economic argument.  More so because we can always revive an ailing economy; but we cannot bring back to life those who die from this pandemic.  And with this as our chosen path, we set out to build the irreducible minimums.

Fellow Kenyans,

The leadership of all the critical stakeholders we have consulted on this path for the last month is standing behind me today.  And the question before us is the following: Have we met this irreducible minimum?  Are we ready to re-open?

According to the experts and stakeholders, we have not met the irreducible minimum 100%.

However, consensus amongst them is that we have reached a reasonable level of preparedness across the country to allow us to re-open.

With this expert opinion at hand, and the counsel offered by the National Security Council (NSC), I, today, announce a phased re-opening of the country as follows:

I. One, I order and direct THAT the cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Mombasa County and Mandera County, that is currently in force, shall lapse at 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 7^th July, 2020.

II. Two, I order and direct THAT the Nationwide Curfew that is currently in force between the hours of 9pm and 4am daily, be and is hereby extended by a further 30 days.

By re-opening Nairobi, Mombasa and Mandera, we are more at risk than we were when the restrictions were in place.  We must, therefore, exercise cautious optimism, and avoid reckless abandon.  I believe that, although the path to recovery is rocky and uneven, it is navigable.  And this is why I must give two qualifications to the phased re-opening.

Firstly, the order to re-open is given conditionally.  Should the situation deteriorate and pose a challenge to our health infrastructure, it shall be ‘clawed back’.  In the next 21 days, we shall study patterns of interactions and the spread of the disease.  Any trends that signal a worsening of the pandemic, we will have no choice but to return to the lock-down at zero-option.

Secondly, this order will only bear fruit, if we exercise shared responsibility.  My intention is to re-open and to remain open.  The ‘claw back’ option is not on my wish list at all.

But to re-open and remain open, you MUST become your brother’s keeper.  While the government will, no doubt, do its part to achieve the desired wish of remaining open, you, mwananchi must also do what is expected of you personally to achieve it.  This is, therefore a National Call to civic responsibility.

And on this I must further add that, civic responsibility is not a demand placed on the self by the state.  It is not a demand that can be enforced. It is a duty you pay to your fellow countrymen for co-existing with them.

It is a voluntary act of goodwill expressed to your neighbours in good times and in bad times.  It is a civic duty to defend and protect yourself, your family and the environment that nurtures you.

My National Call to you all, therefore, is to minimize unnecessary contact and movement.  I encourage all Kenyans to consider delaying non-essential up-country travel, and to exercise extreme caution and fidelity to the correct usage of face-masks, hand washing and sanitization, physical and social distancing, and concern for the health of the elderly and immune-depressed persons.  And you must always remember that there are no unbearable responsibilities in the face of a crisis like the one we are in.

Fellow Kenyans,

With the advice of the National Security Council and the National Emergency Response Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, I further order and direct the following phased measures:

I. THAT places of worship will commence phased re-opening for congregational worship and public (in-person) worship in strict conformity with all applicable guidelines and protocols, including the self-regulating guidelines developed by the Inter-Faith Council;

II. THAT, in line with the guidelines issued by the Inter-Faith Council, only a maximum of one hundred (100) participants will be allowed at each worship ceremony and not be more than one hour;

III. THAT, Sunday Schools and Madrassas shall remain suspended until further notice, and in-person worship shall not include congregants under the age of thirteen (13) years or above the age of fifty-eight (58) years or persons with underlying conditions;

IV. THAT, following consultations with stakeholders in the education sector, and cognizant of the surge in the rate of infections, the Ministry of Education shall jointly with all the stakeholders in the sector shall today, not later than tomorrow, notify the public on the resumption of the 2020 Academic Calendar for Basic Education and Tertiary Institutions.

V. THAT, conscious that movement of people is a catalyst for the spread of the disease, there shall be no movement of public transport vehicles into and out of the areas previously under cessation of movement restrictions, without the public transport providers being compliant with all protocols developed by Ministry of Health.  To operate, Public Service Vehicles the operators will require mandatory certification from the Ministry of Health, in consultationwith Ministry of Transport.  

VI. THAT, Local Air Travel within the Territory of the Republic of Kenya shall resume effective Wednesday, 15^th July, 2020; in strict conformity with all applicable guidelines and protocols from both the Ministry of Health and civil aviation authorities;

VII. THAT International Air Travel into and out of the Territory of the Republic of Kenya shall resume effective 1^st August, 2020; in strict conformity with all protocols from the Ministry of Health, local and international civil aviation authorities, and any additional requirements applicable at the ports of departure, arrival or transit;

VIII. THAT the prohibition against social and political gatherings, of whatever nature, is extended for a further period of 30 days;

IX. THAT the restriction of the operation of bars to ‘take-away’ only, and the restrictions on the number of persons who can attend weddings and funerals is extended for a further period of 30 days; and

X. That the ministry of Health, in conjunction with the Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development shall establish protocols for the resumption of the importation and sale of imported/second-hand clothes.

Fellow Kenyans

As we implement the phased re-opening, I remain alive to the economic and social challenges facing our country.

Jobs have been lost, businesses have closed and livelihoods endangered.  And this is the sorry state of things the world over.  But history has taught us that the COVID crisis is not the first health disaster with such enormous economic challenges.  There were many more before this one.  However, those who overcame previous disasters and finished on top, began by first changing their mind sets.

Put differently, it is not enough for government to pump resources into the economy using stimulus instruments, as we have done.  Such efforts will go to waste if the people do not co-create solutions with the government.

Those who overcame previous disasters in history did so because they acted as one.  The people and their government entered into a joint-venture to subjugate their challenges.

This, therefore means for us to revive the economy, re-open and remain open, the government and its people must pull together.

Today, I have invited you to exercise civic responsibility towards each other.  But I do not want you to exercise this responsibility in the fight only against COVID-19 pandemic.  I want you to have a shared responsibility with government in reviving our economy.  And for us to do this by first changing our national mind-set.  We have the opportunity to stitch a “new national mindset garment as it were”.

My Madaraka Day Speech of June 1st 2020 set the stage for this change in mind-set.  I challenged all of us to re-imagine Kenya the way our Founding Fathers Imagined “a nation from nothing”.  And today, with a much younger population, I challenge you to re-imagine our economic and business models as we re-open tomorrow.  We must remember that Corona Virus is an invisible enemy.  We cannot confront this enemy because we cannot see it; we can only evade it.  And evading an invisible enemy calls for imagination.

Instead of doing business as usual, therefore, the moment calls us to do business unusual.  When we re-open, we cannot use the old maps to navigate the new lands created by the moment. We must have the courage to let go the old MODELS of yesterday in order to find the new opportunities presented by this crisis today.

Those who will change their mind-set and embrace the new normal, will be favoured by destiny. I particularly encourage our young people to take up this challenge of re-imagining our business models.

And yes, they may have no capital, but the currency of the COVID moment is ideas and young Kenyans are a flora of ideas.

I note with satisfaction that our textile industry has already seized the moment and leveraged on the silver lining presented by the COVID crisis to create opportunities for our fellow countrymen.  Owing to this initiative, Kenya is today emerging as a net exporter of PPEs to the region.

I applaud the COVID-19 Response Fund for contracting the local industry to produce PPEs for our healthcare workers.  I encourage other sectors of our economy to re-imagine Kenya as a net exporter.

Turning to the social front as my last point, I am concerned by increasing tensions within our homes.  Cases of Gender-Based Violence have increased, mental health issues have worsened, and instances of teenage pregnancy have escalated.

I appeal to social institutions, including the religious institutions, to exercise civic responsibility to bring these unfortunate trends to an end.

We must always remember that the family is a projection of the State.  If the family is under attack, the State is under attack.  If the family is weak, the country is weak.

Therefore, to fortify our protection of the family as the foundation of the State, I further Direct and Order that the National Crime Research Centre to probe:

i. the escalating cases of gender-based violence;

ii. the worrying trend of cases where the girl child has been disempowered; and

iii. the violation of children’s rights. 

In that regard, the Centre is further directed to prepare an advisory to our security agencies on remedial action within 30 days from the date hereof and initiate immediate prosecution of all violators.

Finally, and as a fact of history, a CRISIS has two elements to it.  The first is danger, the second is Opportunity.  Success is given to the person who exploits the opportunity and evades the danger.  And to exploit the opportunities given to us as we re-open, our mind-set must be that of a maker-of-things.

We must remain positive because a “…Positive Nation is a FORWARD moving NATION”. Kenya mbele leo kesho na milele.  We must all endeavor to return the river to its course.

Thank you and God Bless you; and God Bless Kenya.