Fact Checker; Government Spokesman Claims on SGR Untrue

Government spokesman Eric Kiraithe addresses a press conference at his office at KICC, Nairobi. [Boniface Okendo/Standard]

In the wake of revelations that Kenyan workers are facing harassment from Chinese managers at the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the State, in a move that many Kenyans found troubling, sided with the Chinese officials accused of harassment.

Government Spokesman Eric Kiraithe appeared to justify cases of corporal punishment experienced by Kenyans at the hands of their Chinese bosses saying: “We all appreciate the operations of a modern train infrastructure system like Madaraka Express in a consistently effective and efficient manner is a profession that calls for military standard discipline.”