Manipulated image falsely claims Kenyan journalist Jeff Koinange's arrest
IN SHORT: A social media post contains an image allegedly published by a Kenyan newspaper claiming that Citizen TV journalist Jeff Koinange was arrested over "confirmed allegations". But the image is fake. The original photo is from 2020 and is of a different person.
A Facebook post shared on 4 March 2025 claims that Jeff Koinange, a well-known Kenyan journalist and news anchor on the widely watched Citizen TV, has been arrested.
The post includes a photo that appears to show Koinange handcuffed and being escorted by two police officers. One of the officers, wearing a green uniform, is holding Koinange's trousers by the waist, while the other, wearing a tan khaki uniform, is holding his forearm. Curious onlookers can be seen in the background.
The image appears on the Star newspaper website with the headline: "The allegations against Jeff Koinange have been confirmed." The post includes a link to an unknown website.
Jeff Koinange is one of Kenya's most recognisable journalists. He presents JKLive on Citizen TV and co-hosts the breakfast show on radio station Hot 96 FM.
The officers in the photo appear to be Kenyan administration police, based on their uniforms.
The claim refers to "allegations against Jeff Koinange" but it is not clear what these are. An incident involving Koinange took place in 2015. At the time, a warrant was issued for his arrest for failing to comply with a court order in a defamation case brought by business executive Jimmy Wanjigi over an interview on JKLive.
The post claims that the Star reported Koinange's arrest, with the image shown as evidence. But is this true? We checked.
Image is fake
A closer look at the image shows clear signs of manipulation. Koinange's face appears to have been Photoshopped onto someone else's body. The edges around Jeff's face look unnatural, and the colour and shadows on his face appear out of place compared with the rest of the image. This suggests that the image has been altered.
A reverse image search led us to the original photo, which is almost identical except for the face of the person being arrested. It is not Jeff Koinange. The photo has been online since 2020.
The original image appeared in an Al Jazeera article about public anger at police officers' harsh enforcement of Kenya's Covid restrictions.
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According to its caption, the photo was taken by Associated Press photographer Brian Inganga. The man pictured was being arrested for running a restaurant that allowed customers to eat on-site, which was banned at the time.
We also searched for any credible reports of Koinange's arrest and found no relevant results to confirm the claim. The Star has not published any such story, and it does not appear on their website or social media pages.
This confirms that the image used in the viral claim is an edited version of an old photo, with Koinange's face Photoshopped onto another person. The misleading photo is likely intended to lure users into clicking on the suspicious website linked to the photo.
The claim that the photo shows Jeff Koinange's arrest or that it was published by the Star newspaper is false.
