Kenya: No, Kenyan Govt Didn't Use State Officials to Mobilise People to Attend Independence Day Celebrations

No, Kenyan government didn't use state officials to mobilise people to attend independence day celebrations

IN SHORT: As Kenya celebrated its independence from colonial rule, a graphic went viral claiming that the government used state officials to mobilise people for the celebrations. But it is fake.

The Kenyan government used state officials to rally people to attend Jamhuri Day celebrations amid the president's dwindling popularity. That's according to a graphic getting significant social media attention in Kenya.

"State Mobilizes NYS and Nyumba Kumi Leaders to Boost Attendance at Jamhuri Day Amid Fears of Hostile Reception for Ruto," it reads.

Jamhuri Day is a national holiday in Kenya. It is celebrated annually on 12 December to commemorate the country's independence from British colonial rule. William Ruto is Kenya's president.

NYS stands for National Youth Service. It is a government organisation that trains and mentors Kenya's young people in various skills and trades.

Nyumba Kumi Initiative is a strategy to maintain peace and security by anchoring community policing at the household level. The government organises people into units of 10 households to encourage neighbourly security.

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.

It comes about two months after Rigathi Gachagua, Kenya's former deputy president, was impeached after falling out with president Ruto. He was impeached on charges of violating the constitution and gross misconduct. Kenya's former interior minister Kithure Kindiki was selected to replace him.

Gachagua is a Kikuyu and comes from the Mt Kenya region. When used in a political context in Kenya, "Mt Kenya" usually refers to the communities living in the central region, specifically the Kikuyu, Meru, and Embu.

Many of Gachagua's supporters feel Ruto has betrayed the Kikuyu community by impeaching him. As such, there is a narrative on social media in Kenya that the community and Kenyans, in general, are revolting against his presidency and are even boycotting national celebrations.

But is the graphic legit? We checked.

Fake graphic

Africa Check didn't find any instance of reputable media outlets reporting the claim in the graphic, despite it being a politically sensitive matter.

We also noted that the text in the graphic did not conform to Nation Africa's usual house style. In a genuine graphic, the first two words are usually written in capital letters, but this is not the case on the circulating graphic. Most of the words on the graphic in question start with capital letters, which also differs from legit ones.

Nation Africa often posts its graphics on its verified social media accounts, including Facebook and X. Africa Check scoured the accounts for the graphic and came up empty.

On 11 December 2024, 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. If you can't find it on Nation.Africa's official pages, treat it as fake!" it cautioned.

The graphic in question is fake and should be ignored.

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