IN SHORT: Graphics allegedly from two Kenyan media houses are doing the rounds on social media. They claim that Kenya's deputy president Rigathi Gachagua is set to face impeachment over his son's involvement in the mosquito net scandal. But they are fake and should be ignored.
Graphics claiming that Kenya's deputy president Rigathi Gachagua will be impeached over his son's KSh4 billion (about US$30.7 million) mosquito nets scandal are circulating on Facebook.
The graphics include Gachagua's image and the logos of Kenyan media house the Standard and digital news platform Kenyans.co.ke.
In May 2023, Kenya's anti-corruption commission launched an investigation to uncover irregularities in a KSh3.7 billion scandal involving the procurement of mosquito nets. President William Ruto sacked several officials at the national medical supplies authority following complaints of corruption and mismanagement.
Although Gachagua's son Keith Keino is a medical doctor, there is no evidence that he was involved in the scandal.
Kenya has been grappling with protests triggered by the unpopular finance bill since June 2024. The demonstrations have developed into calls for a change in presidential leadership and the dismissal of corrupt government officials. The circulating graphics suggest that Gachagua was also the target of these calls.
Some of the captions alleging his corruption and abuse of office include:
- KEMSA scandal will eat Riggy G. It is believed that His son pocketed billions of money from KEMSA in the nasty mosquito net scandal.
- The Article 150 of the Constitution allows impeachment of Deputy President Gachagua for Gross violations, Criminal conduct, and Gross misconduct.
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The graphics have also been posted here and here.
But is it legitimate? We checked.
Flagged as fake
As a public figure and deputy president of Kenya, news that Gachagua is set to face impeachment charges due to such a scandal would be reported by the mainstream media. However, Africa Check found no such reports from any media house.
On 10 July, digital news outlet Kenyans.co.ke posted the circulating graphic on its official X (formerly Twitter) account with the word "fake" printed in red.
"This post did not emanate from our media house. We flag it as FAKE. For official communication from kenyans.co.ke, always visit the official website and verified social media page," reads the post.
The Standard newspaper usually posts its graphics on its social media platforms. We searched its accounts for the circulating graphic and came up empty.
The circulating graphics are fake and should be ignored.
