At least 183 Kenyans residing in China have registered to be evacuated back home, however the majority are yet to buy air tickets. The government has been under pressure to use part of the billions that have been set aside or received from donors to deal with the effects of Covid-19 to bring Kenyans - most of whom are students, domestic workers and business people - back home. On Friday, Kenya’s ambassador to China Sarah Serem announced that a Kenya Airways plane will leave Guangzhou on Friday next week. “As you are aware, the flight is a special arrangement that has been availed by the government of Kenya and that of China following the closure of airspace and cancellation of international flights as a result of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and in response to your distress to be facilitated to go back home,” Serem said in an address on Kenyans in China. The former Salaries and Remuneration Commission chairperson said her office has made arrangements with the Chinese government to give amnesty to those with expired visas.

Source: The Star May 01, 2020 12:00 UTC