Kenyan president Ruto and opposition leader Odinga didn't pick MP Junet Mohammed to lead interior ministry
IN SHORT: As Kenyan deputy president Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment case continues, there appears to be a surge in false information targeting government leaders and the opposition. This graphic with a claim that an opposition legislator has been selected as interior minister is fake.
Kenyan president William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga have settled on lawmaker Junet Mohammed as cabinet secretary for interior and national administration. That's according to a graphic doing the rounds on Facebook in Kenya.
"Raila and Ruto Agree on Junet Mohammed as CS for Interior in Broad-Based Government Deal," it reads.
The graphic shows the logo of Nation Africa, the online platform of one of the largest media houses in Kenya. It also includes the Nation's SMS number.
Mohammed is the Suna East constituency member of parliament and the national assembly minority whip. The constituency is in Migori county in western Kenya.
He is a close ally of Odinga and a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Led by Odinga, the ODM is considered the country's main opposition party.
The graphic appears to endorse a claim on a separate graphic that Africa Check has debunked. The debunked graphic claimed that Odinga was offered money and government positions, including that of cabinet secretary for the interior ministry, to support the impeachment of deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
According to the claim, Odinga proposed Mohammed for the position.
After sustained anti-government protests in June and July 2024, Ruto sacked most of his cabinet members. He later included opposition members in his new cabinet to form what he called a "broad-based" government.
The graphic comes as Gachagua is fighting his impeachment in court. Kenyan senators and members of the national assembly voted to impeach him on the grounds of violating the constitution and gross misconduct.
But is the graphic legit? We checked.
Graphic fabricated
Such a report would likely attract immediate attention from the mainstream media. However, Africa Check found no reports of this from reputable local or international news outlets.
We also noted that despite having Nation Africa's logo, the graphic's writing style differs from that on genuine graphics. For instance, genuine Nation Africa graphics have the first two words written in capital letters, but the graphic in question does not.
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Nation Africa often posts its graphics on its verified social media accounts, including Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). Africa Check searched the accounts for the graphic and came up empty.
On 25 October, the news site posted a blurred version of the same graphic, with the word "fake" printed on it.
"FAKE NEWS ALERT! Please be advised that this card doing rounds on social media is fake," it wrote.
The graphic in question is fake and should be ignored.
