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‘Azimio ya majambazi, wezi sugu’? Ignore photoshopped front page of Kenyan daily newspaper

An image posted on Facebook appears to be the front page of Kenyan Kiswahili-language daily, Taifa Leo, with a headline calling the country’s top politicians robbers and thieves. 

The headline reads: “Azimio ya majambazi, wezi sugu.” This loosely translates to “a vision of robbers, notorious thieves”.

The front page, dated 6 October 2021, features photos of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, opposition leader Raila Odinga, senator Gideon Moi, son of Kenya’s second president Daniel arap Moi, and Jimmy Kibaki, son of the country’s third president Mwai Kibaki. 

Text above the headline reads: “Familia za Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki na Daniel Moi zaunga azimio lake la 2022.” This means “the families of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Daniel Moi back his 2022 bid”. 

The front page suggests that the three families have endorsed Odinga’s 2022 presidential bid

But is this front page legit? We checked.

Newspaper_Fake

Photoshopped headline

There are a number of clues that something is not right. 

The grammar in the headline is poor and the language defamatory, which is unlikely in a respected national newspaper. 

The design also appears imbalanced. The font used in the headline is not the one used in the current design of the newspaper.

Using the newspaper’s epaper portal, we searched for the 6 October 2021 edition and found a different front page. The newspaper also published this version on Twitter on the day. 

The real headline reads: “Watoto wa marais wakwama na Raila.” This loosely translates to “children of former presidents stick with Raila”. 

The text above the headline, suggesting the country’s political dynasties support Odinga’s bid for the presidency, was unchanged. But the headline of the front page shared on Facebook was doctored.

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