Man in court to stop mandatory COVID-19 vaccine directive for civil servants
By Benson Mbare, September 10, 2021
Joseph Aura Enock has submitted a petition to court seeking to overturn the government’s directive to civil servants to receive the Covid-19 jab.
Aura’s petition highlights an argument that the government’s directive is in utter violations of the Health act, guaranteeing every Kenyan to refuse their consent to any medical intervention they disagree with.
Aura is seeking to convince the court to overturn the directive by head of public service Joseph Kinyua to receive a mandatory Covid-19 vaccine.
“The constitution of Kenya guarantees in a non-abrogable manner to every Kenyan whether in public or private sector the protection of their health, safety and economic interests and the government is taking liberties with Kenya people’s health,” the petition partly reads.
The petition comes days after Acting Director General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth warned those seeking hospitality jobs to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or risk not being employed.
During a media briefing on health and Covid-19 response, Amoth explained the importance of the jab for the hospitality industry, casually insinuating that everyone in the industry must be vaccinated.
Amoth singled out the hospitality industry as an example, asserting that it is a key stakeholder in the fight against the disease.
The order also comes as parliament is due to consider a motion to bar unvaccinated people or those without negative Covid-19 certificates from certain public and private spaces.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe also issued a stern warning to all citizens seeking to access the Ministry of Health premises. He said nobody will be allowed into the premises if not vaccinated.
The sentiments by the Ministry of Health comes a month after Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua in a memo to government ministries gave notice to Kenyan civil servants over the same.
Prior to Kinyua’s directives, the Teachers Service Commission had also expressed dismay by the low uptake of the vaccine by teachers.
This led to TSC giving a seven-day ultimatum to get the jab or risk facing disciplinary action.