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Embattled Migori Governor Okoth Obado on Wednesday directed the fully reopening of the county claiming Covid19 had been defeated.
Obado, who is facing an impeachment threat, asked Migori county residents to stop wearing masks and that God had heard their prayers and put an end to the coronavirus.
He appeared to borrow from Tanzania's President John Pombe Magufuli who declared his country Covid19 free despite reports from civil society groups that the disease was rampant in the East African Country.
"I have studied and observed this things across the county and I believe God has ended this thing. That is why as you can see, I'm not wearing a mask. Our God given immunity has really assisted us and that is why my I sat with my Covid19 response team and we agreed to fully reopen and normalize lives. We will not ask for masks or prevent people from going to the markets."
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"Initially, I complained our neighbors from Tanzania were risking lives of Migori residents because we share a porous border but by and large God has been good to us," Obado said.
The Migori Governor said he suspected he had contracted the coronavirus in February wheh he had a cough.
"I suspect I had corona even before the first case was reported because I had a very bad cough in February. My independent thinking is that corona has reached every homestead in Kenya because from March, so many people must have gotten infected. There are places we would test and everyone in the homestead had it, and they would get healed," the Governor said.
The claims by the Governor go against the advice of medical experts who have advocated for control of infections to the largest extent possible.
His directives are also likely to cause a clash between the Migori County Government and the national government.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has issued some directives such as mandatory wearing of masks which the County Government cannot overrule.
Some of the directives such as closure of bars overlap since licensing and control of such facilities is a devolved function although a Presidential directive is expected to be binding on all counties.