Image showing supposed intimacy between Kenyan parliamentarians Esther Passaris and Peter Salasya is digitally manipulated
IN SHORT: The original photo shows Peter Salasya, the MP for Mumias East, holding a book and not the waist of Nairobi woman representative Esther Passaris.
An image circulating on Facebook shows Kenyan lawmakers Esther Passaris and Peter Salasya seemingly in a pose that suggests an intimate relationship.
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The image shows the two politicians smiling outdoors, with Salasya appearing to have his left arm around Passaris's waist.
Passaris is the Nairobi county woman representative, while Salasya is the Mumias East MP.
The two have appeared together publicly before, including at the 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya's capital. During the event, Salasya went viral after an interview in which he struggled to define climate change.
Passaris later defended him, saying as a first-term grassroots leader, Salasya was more focused on immediate constituent issues, such as reviving the sugar sector, housing and bursaries, rather than on scientific terminology. She said he deserved time to see how local issues linked to the global climate crisis.
The same image has also been posted here, here and here. But is it authentic? We checked.
Doctored photo
On 27 January 2026, Passaris shared multiple photos of herself with other leaders, including Salasya, at the annual MPs retreat.
She captioned the photos: "Honoured to be joining my fellow Members of Parliament at the Annual Members' Retreat, which is focused on securing Parliament's legacy and strengthening our forward planning around its constitutional mandate ... Beyond policy, this retreat is also about openly sharing the challenges we face and building camaraderie as colleagues and as leaders serving this beautiful nation, Kenya."
Among the photos is one of Salasya, Passaris, and another MP. In this photo, Salasya's left hand is holding a book, not placed on Passaris's waist. The manipulated version also doesn't feature the third MP.
Passaris also posted both images side by side, labelling one "REAL" and the other "FAKE".
She wrote: "Today is Data Protection Day. This image shows how easily reality can be manipulated. One version is AI-generated. One is real. In today's digital age, it's becoming harder to tell the difference, which is why privacy, ethical data use, and responsible sharing matter more than ever.
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"Data protection, digital ethics, and stronger cyber laws, including Kenya's cybercrime and data protection frameworks, are not just 'tech issues.' They protect real people from digital harm. Always verify because in 2026, seeing is no longer believing."
Data Protection Day is marked every year on 28 January to raise awareness about privacy and encourage people and organisations to protect personal information.
The image in question has been doctored and should be ignored.
