IN SHORT: A graphic circulating on social media in Kenya claims that millions of ghost voters will be removed from the register before the 2027 elections. But the graphic is fake.
A graphic that started circulating on social media on 4 July 2025 attributed a controversial quote to Erastus Edung Ethekon, who it claimed was the new chair of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
It reads: “We will remove over 2 million ghost voters from the register before 2027 elections. Kiambu county has the largest concentration of ghost voters followed by Meru, Nairobi and Nyeri.”
In May 2025, Ethekon had been nominated by president William Ruto as IEBC’s chairperson alongside six commissioners, to be vetted by parliament in a bid to reconstitute the electoral body. But a court petition halted the process, claiming the selection process was flawed, opaque and unconstitutional. In June, Ruto went ahead and appointed the nominees, contradicting the order.
On 10 July, a high court ruling upheld the nomination of the chairperson and six commissioners, but nullified the notice appointing the commissioners, terming it unlawful.
Following the re-gazettement of the chair and commissioners’ appointment, the new appointees were sworn in on 11 July.
The graphic also appears here, here and here. We took a closer look.
Commission rubbishes fake graphic
On 5 July, the IEBC’s official X account posted the circulating graphic with the word “FAKE” printed across it in red.
“Please note that the commission currently neither has a chairperson nor members of the commission. Therefore, any information circulating on social media is null and void,” reads the post.
When the graphic started circulating, Ethekon had not yet been appointed as chair of the IEBC and therefore no changes to the register had been officially made as alleged in the graphic. The IEBC was officially reconstituted on 11 July when Ethekon and the six commissioners took oath of office.
Since then, we have found no credible media reports and no official announcements from the IEBC suggesting the voter register had been altered.
When reading news on social media, it’s important to be cautious and always verify the information with credible news sources.
The graphic is fake and should be ignored.
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