The government has finally decided to throw the Health CS Mutahi Kagwe under the bus and take a major about turn on sale of donated blood to Somalia.
The Health CS who had earlier asked DCI to probe sale of donated blood to Somalia found himself an isolated man when several government officials denied any form of smuggling blood out of the country, instead terming it as regional trade.
At the Press conference attended by a dozen government agencies, several leaders spoke up about the current shortage of blood in Kenya which has been blamed on sale of donated blood to Somalia and other countries.
Speaking to the media, Treasury CS said that Kenya needs to maintain a good balance of trade with Somalia and other countries, and this requires creativity in getting the products they need to their markets.
“Somalia has been our trade partner for long, contributing over 70% of all smuggled goods into Kenya. We also need to find something that we can effectively sell to them instead of just relying on miraa which is now threatened by locusts.”
He added, “Selling blood to Somalia is a very innovative thing. First, with the many terror attacks and suicide bombings that leave many casualties in Somalia, they are always in need of blood. Second, it is something every Kenyan has, therefore we are all contributing to nation building since everybody has something valuable to give.”
Internal security CS also said that selling blood to Somalia was a pre-emptive move for the government, since it would make Alshabaab calm down and stop baying for Kenya blood. “It is a win-win situation,” he added.
Others who spoke up on the matter said that the current shortage being experienced in the country is not a shortage but simply noise made by people who are not willing to donate blood. “There are people out there and on social media who are always complaining about shortage of blood yet they do not have the facts. Most of these are jobless people who instead of donating blood, result to criticizing their country online. What benefit does it bring to you?” Asked an infuriated official from the Ministry of ICT.
The government said that the trade with Somalia will continue as usual, as a step to bringing stability to the horn of Africa. All Kenyans were urged to be patriotic and continue donating blood every three months.
