IN SHORT: Kenya's opposition is protesting the outcome of the 2022 elections, among other issues. But a key ally of opposition leader Raila Odinga hasn’t broken with his stance.
Protests only “embarrass and shame” Raila Odinga, according to a key ally of the Kenyan opposition leader.
That’s the claim in a news graphic dated 18 March 2023, which says that Hassan Joho, former governor of the coastal county of Mombasa, has asked Odinga to accept that he lost the August 2022 general elections.
Joho is a member of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
The party was part of the Azimio coalition that lost to Kenyan president William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance party. The supreme court upheld Ruto’s victory.
Odinga has since rejected the results of that election and has taken to leading weekly protests in Kenya. He has also highlighted other grievances, including the high cost of living.
Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta had endorsed Odinga for the presidency.
The graphic shows a photo of Joho. The logo of the Nation, a major Kenyan newspaper, is on the bottom left.
The quote attributed to Joho reads: “The 2022 election was ours to lose and we lost. We had everything, including the backing of president Uhuru Kenyatta. But we lost. It is good sportsmanship to lose with grace. Protests only add to our embarrassment and shame. We need to stop the noise, unite the country, and plan for 2027. Otherwise we will again be caught unawares in the next election.”
The first of Odinga’s protests took place on 20 March 2023.
The graphic was also published here, here, here, here, and here.
But did Nation really report that Joho described the protests as embarrassing?
Ignore fake quote
Such a statement from Joho would be widely reported as a sensational break with Odinga's stance. However, no other credible news source has reported the alleged comments.
Nor could we find any such comment on Joho's social media platforms.
On 20 March, Nation posted the graphic on its verified Facebook page, stamped “FAKE”. It was not published by the newspaper.
It added: “FAKE NEWS ALERT! Please be advised that this card doing the rounds on social media is fake. #FAKENewsAlert.”
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