Kenya: No, Late Kenyan Author Ken Walibora Did Not Write Book Appearing to Criticise President William Ruto Ahead of His Time, Viral Book Cover Photoshopped

20 June 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Dancan Bwire

No, late Kenyan author Ken Walibora did not write book appearing to criticise president William Ruto ahead of his time, viral book cover photoshopped

IN SHORT: An image of what appears to be a book titled "Mwizi Hodari na Hadithi Nyinginezo" has been posted on social media. Users claim it was written by Kenyan author Ken Walibora and suggest it is about president William Ruto. But Walibora never wrote a book with this title.

An image of what appears to be the cover of a book titled "Mwizi Hodari na Hadithi Nyinginezo" is doing the rounds on social media in Kenya.

The Kiswahili title translates to: "The Brave Thief and Other Stories."

The cover shows a cartoon-style drawing of a police officer arresting someone whose head resembles the caricature often used on social media to represent Kenyan president William Ruto.

Most of the posts are captioned: "Ken Walibora was ahead of his time." This suggests that it is a book written by the famous Kenyan author Ken Walibora, who "foretold" the tribulations that Kenyans would go through in the future - especially under the Ruto administration.

Walibora died in April 2020 after being hit by a minibus in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The cover circulating on social media also features Walibora's name and the logo of Moran (E.A.) Publishers Limited, a leading publisher in East Africa.

The claim comes amid ongoing debate in Kenya over the proposed Finance Bill 2024, which was tabled in parliament in May and contains controversial tax hike proposals. After a bill is introduced in parliament, it must go through several key stages before it becomes law.

The image was also posted here and here.

But did Walibora write a book with that title? We checked.

Image a product of photoshop

Walibora wrote dozens of books in Kiswahili, but when we searched for one with the title "Mwizi Hodari na Hadithi Nyinginezo" we came up empty.

We then did a reverse image search of the cover posted on social media which led us to the cover of the original book, posted on Facebook by the Nation, a major Kenyan news site, on 3 April 2022.

It was written by Walibora but the title of the book is Mbaya Wetu. This loosely translates to "Our Crook". The illustration is also different and when comparing it to the circulating image, it's clear the head of the arrested figure was replaced with the version meant to invoke Ruto.

The version of the cover circulating on social media was altered, changing both the illustration and the title of the book.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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