IN SHORT: An image shared on social media appears to show a People Daily article reporting that Kenya's former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua is facing arrest for inflammatory remarks. It is not authentic.
Kenya's former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua has sparked public outrage with divisive remarks and now faces calls for arrest. That's according to a screenshot of what appears to be a People Daily newspaper article, dated 19 May 2025.
It is headlined: "Gachagua's Heated Words Raises Alarms Over Rule of Law."
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The layout includes a photo of Gachagua speaking at a public event and claims he caused "nationwide outrage" with inflammatory statements. The article also claims there are growing calls for Gachagua's arrest and prosecution.
The image surfaced online amid political tensions between Gachagua and president William Ruto. Gachagua has recently criticised the government over budget cuts to the Mount Kenya region, accusing it of sidelining his political base.
He also claimed there was a state-led plot to eliminate him, and that a special security unit had been deployed against him on the president's orders.
These claims have fuelled social media speculation about his possible arrest, creating fertile ground for the spread of misinformation, such as the article circulating online.
But did People Daily really publish this story? We checked.
Article is fabricated
Africa Check took a closer look at the image and compared it to the newspaper's genuine articles.
The headline contains a grammatical error. It says "words raises alarms", which should read "words raise alarm". This, along with inconsistent punctuation and spacing throughout the article, raises doubts about its authenticity. Such errors are uncommon in professional articles from a national newspaper like People Daily.
The newspaper maintains a consistent presence online through its website, e-paper, and verified social media accounts. A search of the publication's website and e-paper archive for 19 May 2025 revealed no such article. The genuine page seven of that day's edition contains different stories.
Additionally, the byline on the circulating screenshot is Elly Gitau, a journalist at People Daily. But the article in question does not appear under his name on any official platform.
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The format and layout of the article also differ from authentic People Daily pages. In the genuine page seven of the 19 May edition, the date appears on the top-left side and the page number on the top-right side. The circulating version places the date and page number on the top-right side. This is a major red flag.
On 20 May, the newspaper issued a public statement on its verified X account and Facebook page, clearly distancing itself from the image.
"We would like to inform the public that the following publication is fake and did not originate from People Daily. Get all our stories on https://peopledaily.digital and our Epaper," it wrote.
The circulating newspaper page is fake.
