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The bizarre and odd

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No Kenyan police manhunt for Nairobi doctor – ‘paedophile’ documents false

A lengthy Facebook post from April 2020 claims Kenyan police have “launched a manhunt” for a “Surgeon and Urologist” for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his office “in the Parklands area of Nairobi”.

It shows what looks like a poster issued by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), headed “WANTED PAEDOPHILE”. A photo of the doctor, and his name, appears on the poster. The post also includes a photo of what seems to be a complaint filed by the supposed victim’s mother, dated 19 April. The occurrence book, or OB, number is 28/19/04/2020. But the Facebook post is false.




No, Ugandan health ministry did not raise alarm about quarantined Covid-19 patients having sex

Are Ugandans under quarantine starting to have sexual intercourse? That’s the headline of an article on a Nigerian website, shared widely on Facebook.

But there is no evidence that the Ugandan ministry of health is concerned about the sex life of those in quarantine during the Covid-19 outbreak. Get more details here.




No, disease outbreaks – including coronavirus – not caused by 3G, 4G or 5G

A message shared on WhatsApp suggests a link between the introduction of wireless network technologies and outbreaks of diseases.
It says that in 2003, when 3G was introduced to the world, there was Sars. In 2009, 4G was introduced and there was swine flu, and in 2020, when 5G was introduced, the new coronavirus. Read why this claim is bizarre and inaccurate.




No Nigerian minister said Igbos would be denied funds because of Biafra

A Facebook post shared on 31 March 2020 in Nigeria claims that the “minister of finance” has told Igbos not to “expect any money from us since you want Biafra”.

The post goes on to claim that the minister said the government is “only sharing money to the poorest Nigerians in the North because we don’t have poor people in South Nigeria”. It is not true. Read why.




No, Nigeria’s disease control authority didn’t spend N1 billion on Covid-19 SMS campaign

Posts circulating on social media claim the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control spent N1 billion (US$2.7 million) on sending SMSs to educate Nigerians about Covid-19.

Did the NCDC really spend this much money? The agency told Africa Check that the claim was false.




Covid-19 and groceries: what advice should you take?

Social media is awash with advice on how to protect yourself from Covid-19. A voice note doing the rounds on Whatsapp is encouraging people to disinfect their groceries before packing them away.

“You don’t know who has been handling the products, it could be an infected person,” it warns.

But experts say these steps may not be necessary.




Huawei doesn’t produce Covid-19 test components, UK not pulling out of 5G contract

“Britain pulls out of 5G contract with Chinese firm Huawei after test kits were found contaminated with Corona virus,” reads the headline of an article on the India-based site Organiser.org.

The article has been shared on Facebook. But its claims are unfounded. Read why here.




No, Ugandan parliament speaker’s coronavirus ‘cure’ just external disinfectant

“Uganda will start the production of Coronavirus vaccine in two weeks,” reads the headline of an article on the Kenyan site Breaking News.

Did the speaker of Uganda’s parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, claim that treatment for Covid-19 had been developed in the US and the African country would start producing the vaccine? She did, claiming that an academic had donated a patent to Uganda. Turns out it is just a disinfectant.

Get all the details here.




Covid-19 cause? Look no further than corruption, Nigeria chief says

Did the chair of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, say you need to look no further than corruption to find the cause of the new coronavirus? Despite official protestations to the contrary, there is video evidence of this.

And he has previous, having also blamed corruption for cancer. Read our check here.

 




No, Uganda hasn’t ‘suspended’ sex during Covid-19 crisis

A screenshot of a Ugandan TV broadcast is making the rounds on Facebook.

From NBS Television, it shows Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni with a banner at the bottom of the screen that reads: “SEX SUSPENDED FOR A MONTH.” This is apparently to contain Covid-19. Not true - what was suspended were political and cultural gatherings.

 


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