A graphic with the logo of the news site Kenyans.co.ke, doing the rounds on Facebook since late February 2022, attributes a controversial quote to Prof Edward Kisiang’ani, a prominent Kenyan political analyst.
“Livondo should be given state security, otherwise we could witness another Msando, Yebei & Kemei,” the quote reads.
On Saturday 19 February, politician Stanley Livondo claimed there had been a plot to assassinate Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta. The graphic suggests Kisiang’ani believes Livondo’s own life to be in danger, and that the politician should be given government security protection.
On the following Monday, Livondo appeared at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to record statements on his claims. The graphic started circulating online soon after.
Meshack Yebei was a witness expected to testify in the International Criminal Court case against current deputy president William Ruto. Chris Msando was a Kenyan electoral official. Kipyegon Kenei was a bodyguard attached to Ruto’s office.
All three were found dead in unclear circumstances – Yebei in 2015, Msando in 2017 and Kenei in 2020.
But did Kisiang’ani really say this, and did Kenyans.co.ke report it? We checked.
‘Multiple checks to prevent misreporting’
On 22 February Kenyans.co.ke posted the graphic – stamped “FAKE” – on its verified Facebook page.
They wrote: “This post did not emanate from our media house. It does not conform to the in-house branding rules and did not go through the multiple approval checks set in place to prevent misreporting. We, therefore, flag it as FAKE.”
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Further Reading
A cloudy outlook? What we are learning about election disinformation in Africa and what you can do about it
As nearly a dozen countries prepare to hold presidential elections, the spread of disinformation is inflaming Africa's political landscape.
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