IN SHORT: These two Facebook pages and one account ask for private communication and an upfront payment from loan applicants. These are classic signs of a scam.
The Facebook pages Ann Waiguru Inua Jimii Loans Project, Governor Ann waiguru Inua Jamii loans and Facebook account Hon Ann Waiguru are running cash promotions and offering loans to Kenyans.
The pages and account use the name and photos of Kirinyaga county governor Anne Waiguru.
Kirinyaga county is about 110 kilometres north-east of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
Inua Jamii is a Kiswahili phrase meaning “uplift the community”. It refers to the Kenyan government programme that provides cash grants to poor and vulnerable people.
The pages and the account encourage interested users to send a private message via WhatsApp with their personal details, including their name, national identification number and phone number.
The promotions and loan offers have been published on various dates here, here, here, here and here.
But are they legitimate? We checked.
Several signs of a scam
We noticed that the posts on the account and pages were poorly written. They have random capitalisation and odd punctuation, which is unlikely for a prominent Kenyan governor. This is the first indication that they may not be from a legitimate source.
A county government Facebook account or page would normally be linked to a functioning website and have an email address. The account and pages in question don’t link to a website.
Applicants are asked to submit their details via a private message on WhatsApp. This is out of character for a government initiative.
The posts inform users that there is a “security fee” for each loan application. This means that they have to pay an upfront fee to get the loan they want. A reputable lender will never ask you to pay a certain amount before giving you a loan. Many lenders build their cost of lending into the total amount paid to the customer.
The Inua Jamii programme has repeatedly stated that it does not provide loans. It provides cash grants. For this reason, the programme’s official Facebook page does not advertise any loan offers.
In operation for just a year
The Facebook account and the pages claiming to offer loans have been operating since 2023. It is unlikely that such a relatively new social media account would be owned and used to offer loans by the governor, who has been in office since 22 August 2017.
The governor’s official Facebook page is Anne Waiguru. It has 388,000 followers and is verified by Meta. The page was created on 2 July 2013. There are no loan offers on her verified page.
The account and pages in question are fake and their offers are scams.
Africa Check has previously exposed Facebook accounts and pages impersonating Kenyan politicians here and here.
Read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them here.
Republish our content for free
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment