FALSE: This image does not show anti-Raila protests by pastoralists in Isiolo
The image of supporters of the defunct opposition coalition, NASA, was snapped during a confrontation with anti-riot police in 2017.
An image shared on Facebook purporting to show protests against former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, by pastoralists during a campaign tour in Isiolo county, is FALSE.
The photo shows a riotous scene amidst smoke. The text accompanying the image claims Odinga was “chased and stoned by Isiolo pastoralists due to fake promises”. The post adds that pastoralists expected immediate solutions to the problems of drought they were facing.
The post continues in Kiswahili to appeal to Kenyans to engage in politics in peace and avoid stoning each other.
Odinga held a campaign rally in Isiolo county on 16 October 2021. There were reports, including by Kenyans.co.ke that Isiolo Governor Mohammed Kuti was booed off the stage in a meeting held in honour of Odinga.
Nonetheless, a reverse image search shows that the photo was not taken in Isiolo and neither does it show anti-Odinga protests. Among the search results of the picture are articles published alongside it, including one by Hindustan Times dated 18 November 2017.
It is credited to Reuters photographer Thomas Mukoya, and its caption indicates that the image shows supporters of the defunct political coalition of opposition parties dubbed the National Super Alliance (NASA).
The caption describes one supporter as trying to catch a tear gas canister fired by anti-riot police during the clashes in Kenya when Odinga returned to the country following a tour to the United States and Britain. This was after the nullification of the presidential election and his subsequent boycott of a repeat election.
PesaCheck has looked into the image claiming to show protests held by pastoralists against former Prime Minister Raila Odinga during his campaign tour in Isiolo county and finds it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Simon Muli and edited by PesaCheck chief copy editor Rose Lukalo.
The article was approved for publication by managing editor Enock Nyariki.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.
