On 24 May 2020, residents of Gikambura in Kikuyu, near the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, fell ill after eating donated food. The source of the contamination remains unclear.
Following the incident, a statement supposedly by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, or KEBS, has been making the rounds on social media. It says samples from the suspect donations were tested by “Bio technicians from the Government Chemist and KEBS”.
The findings are that “the sampled maize flour contains aflatoxin substances” and “the samples contain a pesticide ‘Dicamba’, a chemical that adversely affects fertility in females”.
The statement also says the results have been submitted to the health ministry and the directorate of criminal investigations.
Is this all true?
KEBS has responded on Twitter and Facebook, dismissing the statement as fake.
“The Kenya Bureau of Standards wishes to inform the public that the press statement on the Gikambura Kikuyu relief food incident is fake,” they tweeted.
They also shared a copy of the falsified statement, with “fake” stamped across it in red. – Grace Gichuhi
Following the incident, a statement supposedly by the Kenya Bureau of Standards, or KEBS, has been making the rounds on social media. It says samples from the suspect donations were tested by “Bio technicians from the Government Chemist and KEBS”.
The findings are that “the sampled maize flour contains aflatoxin substances” and “the samples contain a pesticide ‘Dicamba’, a chemical that adversely affects fertility in females”.
The statement also says the results have been submitted to the health ministry and the directorate of criminal investigations.
Is this all true?
‘Press statement fake’
KEBS has responded on Twitter and Facebook, dismissing the statement as fake.
“The Kenya Bureau of Standards wishes to inform the public that the press statement on the Gikambura Kikuyu relief food incident is fake,” they tweeted.
They also shared a copy of the falsified statement, with “fake” stamped across it in red. – 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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