Back to Africa Check

No, deputy leader of Kenya’s ODM opposition party hasn’t resigned – letter fake

What seems to be a resignation letter by Hassan Joho, deputy leader of Kenya’s Orange Democratic Movement opposition party, has received almost instant attention on Facebook.

The letter, posted by several users on 15 October 2020, is headed “Resignation as deputy party leader” and addressed to party leader Raila Odinga.

“I believe during my tenure, I served you and the party members diligently including organising for campaigns in different parts of the country including catering for expenses even as the party was experiencing tough economic times,” it reads.

“It has been a learning experience for me and I do hereby tender my resignation as your deputy with a hope that you will give the youth another chance and also encourage divergent voices in how operations and relations in the party are carried.”

Data from CrowdTangle, Facebook’s insights tool, shows that the letter has been shared with groups and pages with thousands of followers.

But is it real?



‘Fake news ain’t our thing’


No credible news outlet has reported Joho’s resignation, even though it would have been a major political move.

And on the day the letter appeared, the Orange Democratic Movement posted it on the party’s verified Twitter account – stamped “FAKE NEWS”.

“We thrive in truth...fake news ain’t our thing,” the party tweeted.



Joho, the governor of Mombasa County, also tweeted that the letter was fake. – Dancan Bwire




 

Republish our content for free

Please complete this form to receive the HTML sharing code.

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 guide

Africa 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

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
limit: 600 characters

Want to keep reading our fact-checks?

We will never charge you for verified, reliable information. Help us keep it that way by supporting our work.

Become a newsletter subscriber

Support independent fact-checking in Africa.