Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has explained how his government enhanced effective communication during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While explaining the need for effective communication during challenging times, the fourth Head of State said such a communication channel was established to avoid public confusion.

“Poor communication results in confusion, and as we all know, communication in such a season as Covid-19 was, was very important. As a government, we all agreed that the National Emergency Response Committee was solely responsible for all forms of communication around the pandemic.

“I authorized that only the Cabinet Secretary for Health would speak on behalf of the government on all matters related to Covid-19 to avoid any kind of misunderstanding or misinformation, and he became the single source of truth,” Uhuru said in Mombasa during the inaugural East Africa Region Global Health Security Summit on Wednesday, January 28, 2025.

He also spoke about how his government prepared to tackle the eventual pandemic that resulted in total lockdowns when it hit home.

“I would like us to go back a little bit to the year 2020, which was the beginning of a very difficult time for us as a country, for the world, and for me individually.

“When the world basically came to a standstill, taking everybody by complete surprise and forcing nations to begin to ask themselves how this pandemic actually arrived at our doorsteps.

“As the president at the time, I, with my cabinet, found it prudent well before the disease was found within our borders to set up a national response emergency committee on coronavirus,” he added.

Uncertain season

The formation of a specialised committee to tackle the pandemic was also a key move that the government undertook to tackle the health pandemic, Uhuru explained.

“The role of this committee, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, was to help steer the country to navigate the uncertain season with an emphasis on coordinating capacity building of medical personnel and other professionals.

“This was to help our country to respond effectively to any suspected outbreak of the virus that could occur at that time,” the former president highlighted.

Coordination

He also talked about how the national government and the county governments collaborated to ensure Covid-19 did not spread in the country.

“Other roles of this committee were to enhance surveillance at all points of entry and prepare national and county treatment facilities, and we began when I convened an immediate session with the Council of Governors.

“To work on this, we began coordinating the supply of testing kits that would be critical, looking out for medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, masks, and other protective gear that were available within the republic.

“All this, we did knowing that sooner or later we would be confronted by the coronavirus. All these measures we put in place in the month of February 2020, and indeed, as fate would have it, on March 13, the same year, we got our first-ever Covid-19 case,” he continued.

The pandemic period, according to the retired president, was a challenging period for the country as tough measures had to be undertaken in order to fight the spread of the disease.

“This marked the beginning of a long year not only in the health sector but throughout all sectors of the Kenyan economy. Our Kenyan culture is founded on gatherings and socialization, and this was the first casualty, for we had to ban all public gatherings.

“This was a bitter pill for Kenyans to swallow, but it was a necessary measure to curb the virus and protect the people of Kenya,” he explained.