IN SHORT: A Facebook account using the name of Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi promises Kenyans business, personal, school fee and emergency loans. But the page was only set up recently, and is clearly a scam.
The Facebook account “Hon Oscar Kipchumba Sudi” offers quick loans to Kenyans.
The account uses the name and photos of Oscar Kipchumba Sudi, the member of parliament for the Kapseret constituency in western Kenya’s Uasin Gishu county.
On 18 January 2023 the account posted this offer on a Facebook group page: “Hey good morning everyone,Today I give you a chance to participate in my funds INUA JAMII SOFT LOAN from ksh10,000 to ksh200,000.”
It adds: “Kindly try your best and get to know that immediately after you've registration you'll receive the amount you requested in some view minutes like 5 to 10 minutes, kindly hit my inbox.”
Inua Jamii is a government social safety net that gives out grants to vulnerable and poor people.
Another post congratulates users it claims have received its loans and asks people yet to receive to comment “YES SIR” or reach out via inbox. It claims that business, personal, school fee and emergency loans are available.
Its claims have been posted here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
But is the Facebook account really run by Sudi? We checked.
Impostor Facebook account
The account has only 2,000 friends. This seems suspicious for the public profile of a local politician, who one could assume would have more supporters.
It is also suspicious that all its posts are on Facebook groups and are about loans. Such a politician would normally have other concerns to communicate to his followers.
When we searched for other Facebook pages under the name “Oscar Kipchumba Sudi” we didn’t find a verified page, but we did find a page described as the “Official Facebook page for Hon Oscar Kipchumba Sudi, Mp Kapseret Constituency”.
Its “page transparency” section shows it was created in December 2018 and has over 380,000 followers. In 2020, Sudi’s aide Elijah Kiplagat confirmed to Africa Check it is the MP’s official Facebook page. There is no mention of any loan on the official page.
The fake Facebook account only made its first post on 9 December 2022.
It is unlikely that the MP would publish posts full of spelling and grammar errors. And the Inua Jamii Facebook page has previously warned that it doesn’t offer loans.
To learn how to spot Facebook scams, read our detailed guide.
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