Photo of Ugandan troops in DR Congo in 2023, not sent to 'quell treasonous Gen Z' protests in Kenya in 2024
IN SHORT: Several posts on social media claim that the Ugandan president sent soldiers to quell protests against the 2024 Finance Bill in Kenya. But the claim is false, and the photo used as evidence was taken in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023.
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni sent "40 truckloads" of troops to quash the anti-tax protests in neighbouring Kenya. That's the claim in the caption of a photo circulating on social media since 25 June 2024.
The photo shows a convoy of military and other vehicles on a road, surrounded by armed soldiers.
The caption reads: "Museveni sends 40 truckloads of UPDF to 'quell Kenyan treasonous Gen Z demonstrations'." One post on X (formerly Twitter) has been viewed nearly 500,000 times.
The UPDF is the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces.
Gen Z refers to the popular notion of generation Z, young people born between 1997 and 2012.
On 18 June, a wave of peaceful protests against the controversial Finance Bill 2024 swept Kenya. The bill proposed increased taxes on essential goods from bread to cooking oil, as well as new taxes on digital revenues and motor vehicles. It also earmarked millions of US dollars for the renovation of the State House.
When legislators passed the bill on 25 June, the protests - largely led by young people - turned violent. Demonstrators stormed parliament, setting part of the building on fire. Police responded with force and five people were shot dead.
President William Ruto denounced the protests as "treasonous". A day later, on 26 June, he said he would not sign the bill into law.
According to Kenya's human rights commission, at least 39 people were killed in the protests from 18 June to 1 July
But does the photo really show troops from Uganda being sent to "quell Kenyan treasonous Gen Z demonstrations"?
Ugandan peacekeepers occupy DRC town
A reverse image search reveals that the photo has been online since 2023. And while it does show Ugandan troops, they are not in Kenya.
The photo appears in several news reports about the withdrawal of M23 rebels from the town of Bunagana in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in early April 2023. A Ugandan contingent of the East African Community Regional Force then occupied the town.
It was posted on the X account @UPDFspokespersn on 3 April, with the caption: "Yesterday 2nd April 2023, Uganda Contingent of the East African Community Regional Force officially occupied areas of Bunagana Eastern DRC for a peacekeeping Mission in DRC after M23 left the area for UPDF."
Yesterday 2nd April 2023, Uganda Contingent of the East African Community Regional Force officially occupied areas of Bunagana Eastern DRC for a peacekeeping Mission in DRC after M23 left the area for UPDF. pic.twitter.com/hA0Wi5SYKz-- - (@UPDFspokespersn) April 3, 2023
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Conflict between M23 and government regional forces, supported by the regional military, has been raging in the DRC's eastern North Kivu province since 2012. The United Nations has found that M23 receives support from Rwanda.
M23 had reportedly held Bunagana, a strategic town in North Kivu, for more than nine months.
There have been no credible news reports of Ugandan troops being sent to quell the protests in Kenya. The photo was shot in the DRC in 2023.
