Kenya: No, Kenya's ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga Didn't Release Statement Condemning Police Brutality

1 July 2025
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Grace Gichuhi

N SHORT: In a document circulating online, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga seemingly condemns a controversial police shooting during protests in the capital, Nairobi. But Odinga's party says the statement is fake.

A document circulating on Facebook appears to be a statement from Kenya's former prime minister and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, Raila Odinga. It strongly condemns the police shooting of an unarmed street vendor in the central business district of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Dated 17 June 2025, the statement bears the letterhead of the "Raila Odinga Secretariat" and is titled: "Condemnation of Police Brutality in Nairobi CBD."

It decries the incident captured in a viral video as "horrifying" and urges president William Ruto to act against rogue officers.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

The hawker, 22-year-old Boniface Kariuki, was shot at point-blank range by a masked police officer. The shooting occurred during protests sparked by the suspicious death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody.

Kariuki's family says the incident left him brain-dead.

The outcry has intensified pressure on Ruto, who described Ojwang's death as "heartbreaking and unacceptable".

Odinga lost to Ruto in the August 2022 general elections. The statement emerged just months after Odinga and Ruto signed a political pact in March 2025, leading to the formation of a "broad-based" government. The deal included the appointment of Odinga allies to key government positions.

If the document is genuine, it could indicate tension within the so-called broad-based government, as the deal includes a commitment to protecting the right to peaceful assembly.

This statement has also been posted here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)

But is it legitimate? We checked.

Ignore fake document

If Odinga had truly made such a statement, it would have received widespread coverage from credible news outlets, given its political significance and timing. However, we found no such coverage.

On 18 June, ODM disowned the document via its official X account.

"Another FAKE one," the party wrote in a caption while sharing the circulating statement.

The circulating document did not originate from Odinga or his secretariat.

The fake document has also been published here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

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

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Africa Check. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.