A Facebook post claims Kenya’s ruling Jubilee Party has nominated one “Beatrice Wanjiru Elachi” for deputy governor of Nairobi, the country’s capital and one of its 47 counties.
“Jubilee Party secretary Raphael Tuju has announced that the ruling party has nominated BEATRICE WANJIRU ELACHI as the Deputy Governor,” the post reads. “More drama to follow”.
The post was published on 9 January 2020. It includes a document – dated 8 January 2019 and addressed to the clerk of the Nairobi county assembly – that claims the party had decided to nominate Elachi as deputy governor because of the legal troubles facing current governor Mike Sonko.
Sonko has been charged with corruption, with his bail conditions barring him from office. On 6 January 2020 he nominated Anne Mwenda as Nairobi’s deputy governor.
The document reads: “Jubilee being the majority party in the Nairobi County Assembly, and by virtue of being the sponsoring party to Mike Sonko’s leadership, it falls on us to step in and show leadership, so that the residents of Nairobi are not denied the services they need.
“The Jubilee Party’s top leadership convened a special meeting and unanimously agreed to forward to the assembly, Ms Beatrice Wanjiru Elachi as the Deputy Governor nominee for vetting and approval.”
Has the Jubilee Party overridden Sonko, and approved “Beatrice Wanjiru Elachi” as the nominee for deputy governor of Nairobi?
The first sign that the document is fake is its date – 8 January 2019. This was 11 months before Sonko’s arrest for corruption.
And it says “Ms Beatrice Wanjiru Elachi” had “steered the Nairobi County Assembly”. The current Speaker of the Nairobi county assembly is Beatrice Kadeveresia Elachi. “Wanjiru” is not part of her name.
It is unlikely that the party would get wrong the date and official name of their nominee in an official document addressed to the clerk of the assembly.
In fact, on 9 January 2020, Elachi made a communication to the County Assembly about Mwenda’s nomination and invited members of the assembly to debate the nomination. It is unlikely that she would have done so if she was the party’s nominee.
And the Jubilee Party has posted the document on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts, stamped “FAKE” in red. – Grace Gichuhi
“Jubilee Party secretary Raphael Tuju has announced that the ruling party has nominated BEATRICE WANJIRU ELACHI as the Deputy Governor,” the post reads. “More drama to follow”.
The post was published on 9 January 2020. It includes a document – dated 8 January 2019 and addressed to the clerk of the Nairobi county assembly – that claims the party had decided to nominate Elachi as deputy governor because of the legal troubles facing current governor Mike Sonko.
Sonko has been charged with corruption, with his bail conditions barring him from office. On 6 January 2020 he nominated Anne Mwenda as Nairobi’s deputy governor.
‘The sponsoring party to Sonko’
The document reads: “Jubilee being the majority party in the Nairobi County Assembly, and by virtue of being the sponsoring party to Mike Sonko’s leadership, it falls on us to step in and show leadership, so that the residents of Nairobi are not denied the services they need.
“The Jubilee Party’s top leadership convened a special meeting and unanimously agreed to forward to the assembly, Ms Beatrice Wanjiru Elachi as the Deputy Governor nominee for vetting and approval.”
Has the Jubilee Party overridden Sonko, and approved “Beatrice Wanjiru Elachi” as the nominee for deputy governor of Nairobi?
Wrong date, wrong name
The first sign that the document is fake is its date – 8 January 2019. This was 11 months before Sonko’s arrest for corruption.
And it says “Ms Beatrice Wanjiru Elachi” had “steered the Nairobi County Assembly”. The current Speaker of the Nairobi county assembly is Beatrice Kadeveresia Elachi. “Wanjiru” is not part of her name.
It is unlikely that the party would get wrong the date and official name of their nominee in an official document addressed to the clerk of the assembly.
In fact, on 9 January 2020, Elachi made a communication to the County Assembly about Mwenda’s nomination and invited members of the assembly to debate the nomination. It is unlikely that she would have done so if she was the party’s nominee.
And the Jubilee Party has posted the document on its official Facebook and Twitter accounts, stamped “FAKE” in red. – Grace Gichuhi
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