Kagwe not flattered by his new nickname ‘Waziri wa Corona’
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe may be the face of Kenya’s fight against coronavirus, but he is not particularly flattered by the nickname ‘Waziri wa Corona’.
Kagwe has been associated with the pandemic ever since the first coronavirus case was reported in Kenya on March 13, 2020.
He has been on the front line in updating the country on new cases and dissemination of government measures aimed at containing the pandemic.
But that said, Kagwe doesn’t understand why some people in the country, especially children, have taken to referring to him as ‘Waziri wa Corona’.
Speaking on Monday during inauguration of advisory committee on supply and utilisation of blood at Afya House, Kagwe said the coronavirus crisis has made people forget his ministry’s other roles.
“I hear now children are calling me ‘Waziri wa Corona’, they are forgetting the other roles of the ministry. It is good to clarify this is the Ministry of Health and not the ministry of coronavirus,” he said amid laughter from the committee members.
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He said that the ministry was carrying out normal activities and must continue with other efforts to conclude reforms to be able to achieve their goals.
The CS took over administration at the ministry on February 28, 2020, two weeks before the country recorded her first case of coronavirus.
Since then, almost all updates on Covid-19 have been associated with him.
On other occasions, Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi has held the fort for him and only recently, the other top health official Rashid Aman has also made media appearances at the briefings.
On Monday, Kenya’s Covid-19 cases raised to 363 after eight more people tested positive.
The country also has 114 recoveries and 14 have succumbed to the pandemic.