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{
    "id": 986904,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/986904/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 158,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kajiado South, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Katoo ole Metito",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13239,
        "legal_name": "Janet Marania Teyiaa",
        "slug": "janet-marania-teyiaa"
    },
    "content": "in good health. It is good to note that a case was reported of two Kenyan students elsewhere in China, but they had received treatment and are okay. The Ministry reported that no student had requested to return to Kenya. The third one is that the Embassy had requested the Chinese authorities to allow the remaining unregistered Kenyans - about 3,000 - some of whom had expired visas, to regularise their documents after the pandemic. I can confirm that that has been agreed on. So, there will be no harassing of Kenyans because of invalid documents. It was agreed between the two Governments of Kenya and China, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that Kenyans whose passports or visas have expired will have their documents regularised after this pandemic. About 40 Kenyans had expressed their willingness to return, the Government is ready to facilitate those Kenyans who want to come back just the way other governments did to their nationals who were in Kenya. They facilitated their nationals to go back. Facilitation is different from evacuation. For evacuation, it is the Government that pays the costs of everything, but facilitation is at the cost of an individual. That is what was done by foreign countries which facilitated their nationals to go back. In the case of Kenya, because of the lockdown, the Kenyan Government wanted to use a Dreamliner plane for facilitation of the Kenyans in Guangzhou in China. Its carrying capacity is 211 passengers. However, Kenyans who had expressed willingness of coming back were about 40. That made the flight commercially unviable for the flight operators. The big problem is in India. This is where I want Members to listen carefully. In India, we have about 750 Kenyans. About 250 out of the 750 comprise businessmen and patients who are seeking medical treatment. They are willing to return. In fact, they have return tickets because they went for short visits such that after getting medication or doing business, they were to return. The problem they are facing now is not of their own making. They even have return tickets to come home. India is under a lockdown like many other countries. It is so vast. Kenya Airways (KQ) flies to Mumbai, but most of the Kenyans are in other States far from where our national carrier flies to. However, the Ministry is ready and is working on that facilitation by talking to the authorities to allow their movement from one State to the other. Kenya Aiways is ready to fly to New Delhi where most of them can congregate to be picked. The Government said that by the end of next week, they will be ready for that facilitation. Lastly, generally, there are approximately three million Kenyans abroad and the situation worldwide is dire. Due to high infection rates in Asia, USA and Europe, facilitation to bring these people to Kenya will complicate a lot of efforts within borders since they will require to be picked from various scattered cities all over the world that are already under lockdown. It is also good to say that - because this is a Statement - the number of Kenyans who have died abroad from COVID-19. We have five deaths in the USA and two others in other countries. In the USA, one of them was a staff of the mission, but they have not come out clear on whether the death is related to COVID-19. Overall, seven Kenyans were reported dead at the time of our meeting. Hon. Speaker, because of time, I want to table the Statement. It is also good to note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Supplementary Budget, has lost a lot of money. They need about Kshs4.5 billion to realise the facilitation efforts."
}