• DPP released most arrested between 7 and 8pm, saying they were trying their best to get home.
•Opposes quarantine centres that human rights activists call crowded concentration camps where the coronavirus spreads.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
DPP Noordin Haji has freed 1,000 of 1,500 people arrested and quarantined by police for violating curfew and other Covid-19 containment regulations.
He said on Tuesday he declined to prosecute because most arrests were based on "misunderstanding of the guidelines by police" and many were frivolous.
The Director of Public Prosecutions said the 500 charged at a make-shift court in Kasarani Stadium were fined from Sh500 to more than Sh2,000.
“Most of them were arrested for being outside between 7 and 8pm. I had most of them released after they explained their circumstances, with the understanding they were trying to get home during this time,” he said.
The DPP addressed a 'webinar' on Human Rights During the Covid-19 Pandemic convened by the Kenya section of the International Commission on Jurists.
Police had arrested and quarantined about 1,500 people and asked him to press charges against all of them, Haji said.
Infractions include curfew violation, not wearing face masks, improper wearing of face masks and not observing social distancing to curb spread of the coronavirus.
The DPP said it was apparent most officers did not understand the regulations and how to effectively enforce them, giving rise to problems.
“I had an issue with the police setting aside containment camps for those breaching the Covid-19 rules. I didn’t think quarantining them was the best idea,” Haji said.
The curfew went into effect on March 27.
The public was outraged during the first month of the curfew due to police beatings and heavy-handed tactics to arrest those alleged to have breached curfew, even by a few minutes, and other regulations. They were taken to crowded quarantine centres.
Clips and pictures of mistreatment of curfew violators surfaced on social media and many people said police demanded bribes to be spared quarantine.
Civil society groups complained the centres were being turned into concentration camps and people's rights violated.
Many of those quarantined said they were not tested for Covid-19 and were placed in unlivable cramped quarters, increasing their chances of virus exposure.
But Haji explained the understanding behind quarantine was that having breached curfew or other directives, people were presumed to have been exposed to infection, presenting a public health risk.
ICJ chairman Kelvin Mogeni said, "It was unfortunate the government is treating the public health issue as a security issue."
Haji explained involvement of the security apparatus was based on the state taking a whole-government approach in responding to the pandemic.
(Edited by V. Graham)