Back to Africa Check

No, Kenya’s Jubilee Party secretary general Raphael Tuju not dead

A Facebook post claims that Raphael Tuju, a Kenyan politician who also serves as the ruling Jubilee Party’s secretary general, is dead.

It reads: “Rest in peace…raphell Tuju involved in a road accident...”

The post has sparked many reactions, from dismay to dismissal. But is it true? We checked.



Early morning accident


According to local daily newspapers, Tuju was in a road accident early in the morning on 12 February 2020. He was driving on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, on his way to the burial of former president Daniel arap Moi in Nakuru county, east of the capital Nairobi.

Tuju’s bodyguard and driver were with him, and also injured in the accident.

According to reports, Tuju was taken to the local AIC Kijabe Hospital and underwent emergency surgery to stop bleeding in his abdomen. 

The head of the hospital told reporters that “all patients taken to the hospital after the accident were in stable condition and there was no cause for alarm”.

Tuju was later airlifted to Karen hospital in Nairobi to get well under the care of his personal doctor. On 14 February national media reported that he was recuperating. – Grace Gichuhi




 

Republish our content for free

Please complete this form to receive the HTML sharing code.

For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false

A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?

Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.

Publishers guide

Africa Check teams up with Facebook

Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.

The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.

You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
limit: 600 characters

Want to keep reading our fact-checks?

We will never charge you for verified, reliable information. Help us keep it that way by supporting our work.

Become a newsletter subscriber

Support independent fact-checking in Africa.