IN SHORT: A Facebook account using the name of Dorcas Rigathi, the wife of Kenya’s deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, is offering loans to Kenyans. But it’s a fake account and could be trying to scam you.
“Which Loan Amount Do You Need in Your Mpesa Account right now? 20,000(ksh), 40,000(ksh), 60,000(ksh), 80,000(ksh), 100,000(ksh). CALL US RIGHT NOW OR WHATSAPP. 0727519795,” reads a message posted by the Facebook account Hon Dorcas Gashagua.
The account uses the name and photos of Dorcas Rigathi, the wife of Kenya’s deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
In other posts on public Facebook groups, the account claims to offer loans of up to KSh300,000 (about US$184) for business, personal use, school fees and emergencies.
It claims that all users need to do is comment on its loan adverts or call the number provided. It also gives them an option of sending a message on WhatsApp through the same number.
The account claims that the loans are from Inua Jamii, the Kenyan government programme that gives cash grants to poor and vulnerable people. “Inua Jamii” is Kiswahili for “uplift the community”.
Some of the account’s posts have been published here, here, here and here.
Its posts have been flagged by Facebook as potentially false.
But is the account and its loan offers legit? We checked.
Signs of a scam
The first red flag is that the account has misspelt the name of the deputy president’s wife. It is “Gachagua” and not “Gashagua”.
It also claims that the loans come from Inua Jamii. This is false as the programme does not provide loans but rather cash grants to the poor and vulnerable. This has been stated several times on the programme's official Facebook page.
Gachagua’s official Facebook page is Pastor Dorcas Rigathi. It is verified, has over 180,000 followers and does not offer loans.
Offers of loans, gifts and jobs on Facebook from fake accounts are often scams. Find out more in our guide.
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
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