Fabricated press release falsely claims US sanctioned four Kenyan politicians

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on April 3, 2023 at 11:38
  • 2 min read
  • By Mary KULUNDU, AFP Kenya

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Social media users in Kenya have shared a screenshot of a purported press release from the US Department of Treasury announcing sanctions against the East African nation's deputy president and three other ruling party members. The alleged statement claims that their US visas were revoked over their supposed links to "sponsored violence” during anti-government protests. However, this is false: US Treasury spokeswoman Morgan Finkelstein confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the department did not issue any such statement. The four politicians do not appear on any US sanctions list.

On March 30, 2023, as anti-government protests called by Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga entered the third day, a screenshot of a press release purportedly from the US Department of Treasury was shared online claiming the country’s deputy president Rigathi Gachagua and three other politicians from the ruling party had been sanctioned for "sponsoring violence".

This comes after Odinga accused Gachagua and politicians in the ruling party of hiring goons to cause mayhem during the demonstrations (see archived link).

“CHOICES have CONSEQUENCES" We do this again today PATRIOTS! #MaandamanoThursdays (sic),” opposition lawmaker, Junet Mohamed tweeted.

A screenshot of the false tweet, taken on March 30,2023

The same claim was repeated in more than 50 Facebook posts, including here, here and here.

The screenshot mimics the format of statements on the US Department of Treasury website but omits social media contact details, which usually appear below the headlines of press releases and above the date.

A screenshot comparing statement format on the false press release, right, and Treasury’s website

However, the press statement purported to reveal new sanctions against four Kenyan politicians is fabricated.

Hoax statement

A search on the US Treasury website revealed no such document and spokeswoman Morgan Finkelstein dismissed the claim as false.

“This is not true. That’s not a Treasury release,” Finkelstein told AFP fact Check.

At the same time, a search of Kenyans appearing on the US sanctions list (archived here) revealed nine individuals but none of them include the four politicians mentioned in the claims - Gachagua, Trade Minister Moses Kuria and lawmakers Kimani Ichung’wa and Ndindi Nyoro.

Additionally, the US embassy in Kenya dismissed (archived here) the press release as fake.

The political heat in Kenya is at an all-time high amid anti-government demos led by Odinga who has accused President William Ruto of stealing last year's election and of failing to control the surging cost of living.

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