Kilifi Deputy Governor Gideon Saburi Charged with Exposing Public to Covid-19, Detained for 7 Days

Kilifi Deputy Governor Gideon Saburi has been charged for flouting government’s order to self-quarantine over coronavirus. 

Saburi, who was arrested last Friday, was arraigned before Mombasa Resident Magistrate Rita Amwayi on Thursday.

The charge sheet read that on diverse dates between March 6th and March 22nd, 2020, while suffering from an infectious disease namely Covid-19, Saburi knowingly and unlawfully exposed himself in public without taking any precautionary measures.

Saburi denied the charge and was detained for seven days pending a ruling on his bail application on April 15th.

Magistrate Amwayi directed the Health Ministry to table Saburi’s test results in court to prove that he had been diagnosed with Covid-19.

Saburi’s lawyers dismissed the prosecution’s claims that their client had been ordered to self-quarantine after returning to the country from Berlin, Germany. The lawyers further refuted claims that Saburi tested positive for Covid-19.

Saburi has been in police custody since April 3rd when police arrested him shortly after he was discharged from the Coast General Hospital, where he was admitted for two weeks.

Last week, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced Saburi had recovered from the coronavirus disease.