The High Court has issued orders suspending an order by the government that required Kenyans to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 to access in-person government services.

The order by the court sitting in Nairobi comes after Nairobi lawyer Harrison Kinyanui filed a petition in court against the directive.

The rescind order will remain in effect until the petition is heard and determined.

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe had announced that unvaccinated persons would not access in-person government services and would instead have to get those services online or send representatives. 

The same directive was also to affect the trade, hotel and tourism industries because it would require patrons to produce their Covid-19 vaccination certificates before admission to any hotels, restaurants or business premises.

The directive by the High Court deals a blow to the government’s heightened Covid-19 vaccination campaigns that targeted 10 million adults by the end of December 2021.

The move also comes at a time when the number of new Coronavirus infections reported per week has increased five-fold, based on latest data released by the Ministry of Health.