Kenya: No, Kenya's Inua Jamii Programme Does Not Offer Loans - Don't Be Conned By Fake Facebook Page 'Inua Jamii Soft Loans'

20 August 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Dancan Bwire

No, Kenya's Inua Jamii programme does not offer loans - don't be conned by fake Facebook page 'Inua Jamii Soft Loans'

IN SHORT: Kenya's government programme Inua Jamii continues to be impersonated by scammers on Facebook. We expose another Facebook page defrauding users in the name of the programme, which is known for providing cash grants to the poor and vulnerable.

The Facebook page Inua Jamii Soft Loans offers different kinds of loans to Kenyans.

Inua Jamii is a Kenyan government programme that gives cash grants to poor and vulnerable people. It's Kiswahili for "uplift the community".

The page claims that users can access loans of up to KSh300,000 (about US$2,307) for business, personal, school fees and emergencies. It instructs applicants to send the word "LOAN" to the WhatsApp number 0740 685783.

The page's posts have been republished in Facebook groups with thousands of members.

But are they to be trusted? We checked.

Signs of a scam

The page uses photos of Kenya's first lady Rachel Ruto, the wife of president William Ruto, to advertise the loans. But we found no such adverts on her official Facebook page Mama Rachel Ruto, which is verified and has over 1 million followers. This is a red flag.

We also noticed that the page is not linked to the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, which administers the Inua Jamii grants. Government social media pages are usually linked to functioning websites where citizens can find out more about government services.

The Inua Jamii programme has repeatedly stated that it does not provide loans, but rather cash grants. That's why there are no loan offers on the programme's official Facebook page.

The page in question is fake and its offers should be ignored.

To help protect yourself from fraudsters, see Africa Check's guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.

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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