Nairobi — Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has publicly denounced a digitally manipulated image circulating online that falsely shows him kneeling while President William Ruto addressed the public at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Social media users widely shared the image and misleadingly linked it to an official government event on January 19, when CS Mutua joined President Ruto and other senior officials at the NYOTA Business Start-Up Capital disbursement ceremony.

The event aimed to empower young entrepreneurs through government-backed financial support.

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In a public statement, Mutua dismissed the image as fake, describing it as artificially generated and deliberately altered to misinform the public and damage his reputation.

"I wish to alert the public that a manipulated, AI-generated image is currently circulating online, falsely portraying me in a compromising and misleading situation," Mutua said.

"The image is not real and has [been] digitally altered to spread misinformation and create misunderstanding."

The Cabinet Secretary urged Kenyans to exercise caution when consuming and sharing online content, given the rise in the use of artificial intelligence tools often creating convincing but false images.

"I urge all Kenyans to verify information from credible sources and to avoid sharing unverified or sensational content," he added.

"Let us work together to stop the spread of digital misinformation."

The incident underscores growing concerns over the misuse of artificial intelligence in political and public discourse, with leaders increasingly becoming targets of digitally altered images and videos designed to mislead or provoke public outrage.

The NYOTA Business Start-Up Capital ceremony at Kasarani focused on youth empowerment, innovation, and economic inclusion.