Were sleeping not a basic human need, ‘Waziri wa Corona’ Mutahi Kagwe would get no rest at all.
Since he was appointed to the Health ministry five months ago, the CS cannot remember when he went to bed before midnight or woke up after 4am.
So demanding is fighting the Covid 19 pandemic that Kagwe has had to forgo activities he loves – walking, exercising and playing golf.
“At the moment, my official job is 24/7. There is nothing else I do,” the CS said as he tried to recall the last time he went to bed early.
“At the moment, my friend, there is nothing else,” he told the Star in an exclusive interview.
“Maybe a time will come when I can go back to my walking. I love walking. I love exercising. I love the gym. I like an occasional game of golf. But all that, I am afraid, at the moment is at standstill,” he added.
Kagwe was appointed to the ministry in late February when the country was putting in place measures to combat the pandemic that was spreading across the globe.
He was immediately made the chairman of the National Emergency Response Committee for Coronavirus. The inter-ministerial committee coordinates response to the global pandemic.
Two weeks after his appointment to the helm of Afya House, the Health ministry confirmed the first case of the coronavirus.
“I work until late, sometimes if you come to our offices you will find me working very late. My normal day probably ends up at midnight,” he said.
Kagwe said he no longer has control over his diary. He cannot predict how his day or week will look because of the dynamic response required to combat the virus.
“Sometimes you get a day when you are able to do what you have planned. But sometimes you wake up to a crisis and nothing you had planned.
“So it is very difficult to follow a very clear pattern because you have no idea when you wake up in the morning what is going to be thrown at you,” he added.
Kagwe laughed when asked what he thinks about the memes and the fun Kenyans make of him whenever he briefs the nation on the Covid-19 status.
“Most of them (memes) I don’t even know myself. But I don’t look at it as a main thing,” he says.
The CS has had some hilarious moments on the podium – or rather, Kenyans find them hilarious. They have mimicked and joked about the way he pronounces words in his address.
“Let them have fun. Life is tough enough. What is the problem if somebody is getting a bit of fun on me? Saying oooh you know that is Kagwe special, you can gerit [get it], I can gerit [get it].
“They are creating lightness in a situations like this (pandemic period). It is also a good thing. Laughter is medicine. I have no problem being made fun of or people creating humour out of the stuff that I do. I have no problem with that all,” Waziri wa Corona said.