Joho’s bodyguard stopped from accompanying governor to visit Raila after testing positive for COVID-19

One of Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho’s bodyguards has tested positive for coronavirus, K24 Digital can authoritatively report.

The bodyguard, who was in Nairobi last week, is said to have contracted the bug in the capital city, where he was stationed in preparation of accompanying his boss to Dubai to visit the then-recuperating ODM leader Raila Odinga.

The patient and four other bodyguards attached to the county chief have since been placed under mandatory quarantine at the Mombasa Beach Hotel.

Mombasa County Secretary, Dennis Lewa, declined to comment on the matter, terming it as “sensitive”.

“I am not in a position to answer your question [on whether the governor is also affected], neither am I the right person to give you an update on the health status of the bodyguard, who is alleged to have contracted COVID-19. Kindly channel your questions to the [Mombasa County] Health CEC Hazel Koitaba,” Lewa told K24 Digital.

Our phone calls to Koitaba went unanswered. She, however, texted saying she was holed up in a meeting.

“The security guard who tested positive for coronavirus had not shown any symptoms of COVID-19. That explains why he has been placed under out-of-hospital care,” said a reliable source, who spoke with us.

The Mombasa governor undergoes routine COVID-19 testing after every two weeks, K24 Digital understands. He was last examined for the contagion a few days to July 9 -- the day he (Joho) and Suna East MP Junet Mohammed charted a private jet to visit Raila Odinga, who was recovering after undergoing a back surgery in Dubai. Odinga has since returned to the country.

Well-placed sources who spoke to K24 Digital on condition of anonymity said that after the governor’s bodyguard tested positive for coronavirus, he and four of his colleagues, who were to accompany their boss to Dubai, were flown back to Mombasa and placed under mandatory quarantine.

The five had, earlier escorted Joho to Nairobi, where the county boss appeared before the Senate Public Accounts Committee on July 7.

One of the guards tested positive after they were subjected to COVID-19 tests shortly thereafter.

Joho was forced to travel to Dubai accompanied by a leaner security team after his five bodyguards were flown back to Mombasa so that they could begin their quarantine programme.

The current COVID-19 status of Governor Joho, who we understand jetted back to Kenya on Monday evening (July 13), remains unclear, though the last time he was tested for the virus, he posted a negative result.

With over 1, 720 COVID-19 infections confirmed, Mombasa is the second-most affected county by the pandemic after Nairobi, which has over 5, 000 cases registered.