IN SHORT: A front page that appears to be from Kenya’s Taifa Leo newspaper is circulating on social media, showing crude language in reporting on the assault of two East African activists. But the viral image has been manipulated.
The day after Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire addressed a press conference about their abduction and sexual assault at the hands of Tanzanian security officers, what seems like a front page of the Taifa Leo newspaper began circulating on social media in Kenya.
“Walinidinya kwa haga” the all-capitals headline reads – Sheng for “they penetrated me anally”. (Sheng is a form of Kiswahili-English slang originating in Nairobi, Kenya.) The page is dated 3 June 2025 and shows photos of Mwangi and Atuhaire, and reports on the risks of meddling in the political affairs of others.
Mwangi and Atuhaire travelled to Tanzania in May to attend the treason trial for Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu. They and other activists were thereafter detained and held by Tanzanian authorities, unable to contact anyone.
The front page in question has also been posted here and here.
But is it authentic? We checked.
Front page manipulated
Africa Check searched the Taifa Leo newspaper’s archive for the 3 June front page. The original newspaper headline from that issue was “Ulimi wa upanga”, not “Walinidinya kwa haga”. The original headline is Kiswahili for “Sword tongue”, which figuratively means “harsh words”.
Taifa Leo also posted the original front page on its verified X account. It featured a photo of former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, reporting that Gachagua had chastised members of parliament from the Mount Kenya region.
The circulating front page is fake and should be ignored.
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