Hon Mohamed Dahir Duale the MP for Dadaab shocked parliament after he shared his near death experience after he suffered Covid-19 that saw him battle for 42 days of which 35 were spent in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Hon Dahir is the second legislator who has gone public over his COVID-19 sickness, Gatundu South MP Hon Moses Kuria was the first after he posted his picture and shared his battles on Facebook, Hon Kuria cofirmed he has spent 27 days in hospital.
Mr. Dahir made the revelation on Tuesday during a session of the National Assembly Health Committee where Health CS Hon Mutahi Kagwe was grilled over various issues including the graft allegations at KEMSA.
Hon Dahir cited his case as a testimony that COVID-19 is real and prevention efforts should be taken seriously.
“I want to admit that I suffered from Corona, I spent 42 days in hospital of which 8 were in ICU. I thank God for our employer the Parliamentary Service Commission for they paid my bill which amounted to almost Ksh.4 million. I wonder how other Kenyans are managing,” Dahir said.
CS Kagwe thanked the MP for disclosing his situation to show Kenyans, who are still in doubt, that the disease is serious.
“I didn’t know that it was that bad Mheshimiwa, but I thank God you are well, Kenyans need to know that this thing is real.” Kagwe said.
Taking Facebook Hon Kuria thanked the health workers for risking their lives, saying his experience has made him appreciate their efforts more.
“Not just the doctors and nurses, but even the cleaners that risk their lives daily to serve the sick,” Kuria said.
Reports have previously emerged that several legislators had contracted the corona virus but Parliament has always been keen to downplay the numbers of MPs and staff affected. Since it is a personal health issue Parliament could not disclose the status of individual MPs.
