Kenya police misleadingly use old protest photos in online hunt for March 2023 rally participants
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on March 24, 2023 at 20:22
- Updated on March 27, 2023 at 11:21
- 5 min read
- By Mary KULUNDU, James OKONG'O, AFP Kenya
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“Detectives on a manhunt for suspects involved in Monday’s violence,” began a thread posted on the DCI Kenya’s official Twitter account.
It published a series of pictures of people hurling rocks at police, burning tires on streets and vandalising property.
are being gathered and shall be updated, who will face charges ranging from robbery with violence, malicious damage to public property and assault among other allied offences. We are appealing to members of the public to volunteer information that may lead to their arrest pic.twitter.com/RXNNPeI1dJ
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) March 24, 2023
DCI Kenya shared the same images in this Facebook post.
On March 20, 2023, Kenyan police tear-gassed opposition leader Raila Odinga’s motorcade in Nairobi (archived here) as he spearheaded an anti-government protest.
Odinga accused President William Ruto’s administration of being “illegitimate” and of failing to tackle the prohibitive cost of living in the country.
Kenya's Supreme Court upheld Ruto’s victory (archived here) in last year's election after a petition by Odinga, who lost marginally and remains adamant his victory was "stolen".
Unrelated photos
AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on the photos published by the police and found that some were old and unrelated to the March 20 protest.
One picture features protesters burning tyres on a street.
We tracked the image to the photo archive of the Associated Press news agency. It shows Odinga supporters demonstrating on August 15, 2022, after Ruto won the election. The picture is credited to journalist Ben Curtis.
It was taken in Nairobi’s Kibera neighbourhood where Odinga enjoys wide support.
Another image shared by the DCI is of a man throwing a rock.
The image was taken by AFP on November 28, 2017, and shows opposition supporters in Nairobi's Umoja suburbs clashing with police after they were blocked from attending an Odinga rally.
On the day, Uhuru Kenyatta was being inaugurated for his second and last term as president.
In protest, Odinga organised a rally (archived here) that the government declared illegal. Police had blocked off roads to the venue and scattered those attempting to attend.
A third image shows three men at a protest next to what looks like a burning tire and a road blockade.
The photo was also shot by AFP and shows Odinga supporters protesting in Kisumu city in Western Kenya on October 9, 2017. At the time, the veteran politician had called for the resignation of the country’s electoral body.
The protests came as the Supreme Court overturned Kenyatta's election after the 2017 presidential polls over "irregularities". The tribunal ordered a re-run that Odinga boycotted, demanding the ouster of the electoral commission officers first.
The final false image is of a group of people holding sticks while two men are jumping over a pile of burnt branches.
This image is from Burundi and was taken by AFP on May 1, 2015, in Bujumbura.
Demonstrators had taken to the streets to oppose (archived here) a third term for former president Pierre Nkurunziza.
Kenyan police apologised for "the mix-up of images" in a tweet published on March 25, 2023.
PUBLIC APOLOGY
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) March 25, 2023
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations wishes to unreservedly apologize to the public for the mix-up of images in yesterday’s communication, which was meant to appeal for information regarding the whereabouts of criminal suspects involved in Monday’s pic.twitter.com/kEHO3KDozV
March 27, 2023 This story has been updated with the Kenyan police's apology for using misleading photos.
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