Kenyans, Beware of Fake Facebook Account Impersonating Acting Deputy Inspector General of Police Abdalla Komesha

30 March 2023
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Tess Wandia

IN SHORT: It didn't take long for someone to impersonate the Kenya Police Service's new deputy inspector general. This Facebook page in Abdalla Komesha's name is fake.

A Facebook account in the name of the Kenya Police Service's deputy inspector general (DIG), Abdalla Komesha, has appeared on Facebook.

Komesha took over the reins from Edward Mbugua as acting DIG on 21 March 2023 after Mbugua's retirement. Komesha was previously the head of banking fraud investigations in the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and worked at Kenya's counter terrorism centre.

The profile picture on the Facebook account is of Komesha in military uniform, and its cover photo, both updated 22 March, shows Mbugua handing Komesha a booklet. The same photo was published on the police service's official Twitter page and is of the DIG handover ceremony.

The account information states that the user works with the National Police Service Commission and previously studied at the Kenya Police Training College. The account has over 2,500 friends.

Is this really Kenya's acting DIG Komesha's Facebook account? We checked.

Facebook account impersonating Komesha

On 28 March 2023, the National Police Service posted a screenshot of the Facebook account on their official Twitter page, with the words "fake" stamped across it in red.

"ALERT: The National Police Service would like to notify the public that the below Facebook account is fake!" reads the post on Twitter.

The account is impersonating Kenya's acting DIG.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
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