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No, Kenya’s national assembly speaker didn’t pen Facebook post slamming Muslim call to prayer

IN SHORT: The speaker of Kenya’s national assembly has not criticised the Muslim way of life. The Facebook page with an insulting message is run by an imposter.

The Facebook page “Hon. Moses M Wetangula” has published a post criticising Muslims for not adopting technology.

The post reads: “It's coming to the end 2022 and Muslims should also embrace technology and buy alarm clocks or set alarms on their classy phones. There is really no sense in appointing someone to be yelling at the whole estate at 4 am in the name of waking them up to go pray!”

The Muslim call to prayer is known as the azan, or adhān in Arabic. It is proclaimed by a muezzin – a servant of the mosque.

The call to prayer is often broadcast through a speaker.

Moses Wetangula is the speaker of Kenya’s national assembly. He is also a former senator.

Most of the posts published on the page from August to November are politically inclined. In them, Wetangula supposedly expresses his views on various issues.

Kenyan law defines noise as any undesirable sound that is intrinsically objectionable or that may cause adverse effects on human health or the environment. It provides for noise emission standards from various places but does not mention places of worship.

If such a statement was made by the speaker, it could be interpreted as an infringement of the constitutional right to worship.

Is the Facebook page legitimate? 

Wetangula_False

Signs the Facebook page is fake

Most of the posts published on the page are sloppily written, leaving out spaces and incorrectly using upper- and lowercase words. This would be unlikely on an official social media page of such a public figure. 

Wetangula also dismissed the widely shared post, terming it “FAKE”.

“My attention has been drawn to a post making the rounds on social media using my name. Please note that the account being used to circulate the content is Fake. I have alerted relevant authorities to look into the matter and take appropriate action,” the speaker wrote.

He then tagged the investigative arm of the Kenyan police.

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