Embattled Kilifi deputy governor Gideon Saburi is a man who may be forced to go on forced quarantine for a second time.
This is after 11 court staff tested positive for COVID-19 in Mombasa confirming fears that the virus may have been spreading quietly in the court which is just a stone throw away from Old Town which had been listed as an infection hotspot.
On Friday, Chief Justice David Maraga suspended court sittings in three Mombasa courts which include: The Tononoka children’s court, the main court building, and the city court.
Those who tested positive include judicial officers and registry staff.
“Additionally, their primary contacts within the courts totaling 118 officers have been identified and must now go into self-quarantine with immediate effect as directed by the ministry of health officials,” Chief Justice David Maraga said.
The latest revelation has sent shivers down hundreds of court users who include journalists, lawyers, and, police officers and suspects who had attended court sessions over the past week.
Among those who attended court sessions over the past one week include Saburi who is facing a charge of defying the COVID-19 self-quarantine order in line with the Public Health Act.
When he was arraigned in court in April, the court heard that between March 6 and March 22, within Kilifi and while suffering from COVID-19 which is a deadly infectious disease, Saburi willfully and unlawfully without taking any precautions exposed himself in public.
However, his lawyers have argued that Saburi did not test positive for COVID-19 and challenged the director of public prosecutions to produce Saburi’s COVID-19 positive test.
Saburi appeared before the Mombasa law courts on Thursday where the Mombasa chief Magistrate Edna Nyalot ordered that the hearing for his case should begin on 18th August.
It’s not yet clear if Saburi came into contact with any of the 118 officers who have been ordered to self-isolate.
Those on self-isolation will be tested for COVID-19 severally within the 14 days before they can be allowed to continue with their normal lives.
Should any of them test positive, their close contacts will be traced and forced to self-isolate.
