A graphic circulating on Facebook in January 2022 quotes Kenyan member of parliament Rigathi Gachagua accusing deputy president William Ruto of “betrayal”.
“Mt. Kenya betrayal has started even before the elections. I brought Mt. Kenya to William Ruto only for him to pick Musalia Mudavadi as a running mate,” the quote reads. “I cannot attend such a function where Mt. Kenya is on the chopping board.”
“Mt Kenya” refers to a political construct of communities living in the Mount Kenya region, specifically the Kikuyu, Meru and Embu. Gachagua is a close ally of Ruto. Musalia Mudavadi is a Kenyan opposition politician who has teamed up with Ruto ahead of the 9 August general elections.
The graphic is similar to those Kenyan news outlets post on social media, quoting prominent people, although it doesn’t carry any outlet’s name. Its design is very like the graphics produced by the news website Kenyans.co.ke.
It first appeared on the day Mudavadi and Ruto announced their alliance, and may be intended to show cracks in the Ruto camp over Mudavadi’s entry.
But did Kenyans.co.ke really quote Gachagua as saying this?
Fake quote, fake graphic
On 24 January Kenyans.co.ke posted the graphic on social media, stamping it fake.
This post did not emanate from our media house. It does not conform to the in-house branding rules and did not go through the multiple approval checks set in place to prevent misreporting. pic.twitter.com/Sj0Nq0onQY
— Kenyans.co.ke (@Kenyans) January 24, 2022
“This post did not emanate from our media house. It does not conform to the in-house branding rules and did not go through the multiple approval checks set in place to prevent misreporting,” it wrote on Facebook.
“We, therefore, flag it as FAKE. For official communication from kenyans.co.ke, always visit the official website and verified social media pages.”
And on 23 January Gachagua attended the launch of Mudavadi’s presidential campaign and spoke in favour of the alliance between the candidate and Ruto.
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