IN SHORT: Following the recent resignation of a principal secretary in Kenya, false claims have been made on social media that other government officials have resigned. But Hussein Mohamed is still in office.
“Breaking: Hussein Muhammad has resigned from his statehouse spokes person position stating that his religion do not support corruption that is rampant in Kenya Kwisha government.”
That’s the claim in a TikTok video posted in May 2023. It includes a photo of Hussein Mohamed, Kenya’s State House spokesperson. The same claim was posted on Facebook here.
State House is the official residence and office of the president of Kenya.
Kenya Kwisha, which roughly translates to “Kenya is finished”, is a sarcastic slogan used by political opponents of the governing Kenya Kwanza coalition, which translates to “Kenya first”.
At the end of May 2023, Esther Ngero, the permanent secretary in the state department of correctional services, resigned. This was just days after being transferred from the office of the prime cabinet secretary. She said it was for personal reasons.
Mohamed is a well-known journalist and former senior news anchor at Citizen TV Kenya, one of the country's leading media stations.
He stepped down from the role in 2019 to pursue other interests. In 2022, he was appointed head of communications for then-deputy president William Ruto’s presidential campaign. After Ruto won the elections, Mohamed was appointed State House spokesperson.
A similar claim was falsely made about the country’s attorney general. But has Mohamed resigned? We checked.
Are key government officials resigning?
Resignations of key government officials are officially acknowledged by the government and widely reported by many credible media organisations.
But there has been no confirmation of Mohamed's resignation from the government, nor any mainstream media reports of it.
What's more, a check of Mohamed's Twitter page shows that he has been actively posting and sharing updates related to his duties as spokesperson, as recently as 31 May 2023, long after he is meant to have resigned, according to rumours.
At time of writing, his Twitter bio still states that he is the State House spokesperson.
Mohamed has also not spoken publicly about corruption in the Kenya Kwanza government, and his most recent public statements have been in support of the government.
The claim that Mohamed has quit is false.
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