Or so it seems in a screenshot of a tweet circulating on Facebook in early August 2020.
It reads, in Kiswahili: “Nitakata rufaa. Tundu Lissu kura 415 Lazaro Nyalandu 36 Dk. Mayrose Majinge kura 1. Hatuwezi kuibiana kura nikakaa kimya. Bora niede ACT Wazalendo hata kesho.”
This roughly translates as: “I will appeal. Tundu Lissu 415 votes, Lazaro Nyalandu 36 votes Dr. Mayrose Majinge 1 vote. We cannot steal votes and expect me to stay silent. I would rather go to Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT) even tomorrow.”
Did Nyalandu tweet this? We checked.
‘Do not bear false witness’
On 3 August Nyalandu posted the screenshot on his verified Twitter account.
FAKE FAKE FAKE!!! Haya sio maneno https://t.co/o0qkSKj3iT hiyo ni account FAKE! Imeandikwa, Usimshuhudie jirani yako uongo. @ChademaTz @freemanmbowetz @TunduALissu @bavicha_taifa @BawachaTaifa @ChademaDiaspora pic.twitter.com/y1nhUbfMbF
— Lazaro Nyalandu (@LazaroNyalandu) August 3, 2020
“FAKE FAKE FAKE!!!” he wrote. “Haya sio maneno yangu. Na hiyo ni account FAKE! Imeandikwa, Usimshuhudie jirani yako uongo.” The Kiswahili translates as: “These are not my words and that account is FAKE! It has been written, do not bear false witness against your neighbour.”
Nyalandu lost the presidential candidacy to Tundu Lissu in the Chadema primary. On his Twitter feed, Nyalandu is seen congratulating Lissu. He conceded defeat and now supports Lissu. – Grace Gichuhi
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Further Reading
[email protected]: The challenges of working across Africa
Misinformation knows no borders and Africa Check often responds to similar false claims from country to country.
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