Photo of Kenyan journalist misrepresented as plain-clothed police ‘harassing’ tax hike protesters

Published on July 21, 2023 at 16:16
2 min read
By James OKONG'O, AFP Kenya

As fresh protests against tax hikes and high living costs rocked Kenya on July 20, 2023, an image emerged online alongside a claim that it shows a plain-clothed police officer disguised as a journalist to infiltrate the riots. But this is false: the photo is of a Kenyan reporter who was arrested and later released in Nairobi’s Mathare area in March this year.

“Plainclothes officers impersonating journalists. Stay vigilant, protesters,” reads a tweet that has been shared more than 500 times since it was published on July 20, 2023.

Screenshot showing the false post, taken on July 20, 2023

The image shows a man with a video camera stepping out of a vehicle filled with police dressed in anti-riot gear.

The same claim also appeared on Facebook here and here.

It surfaced on July 20, 2023 after the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) accused (archived here) state security officers of endangering journalists' lives by posing as members of the press during the rallies so that they could make arrests.

Protests on the day were mostly subdued as riot police maintained a heavy presence, though isolated clashes flared up in Nairobi between police and rock-throwing demonstrators.

The rallies organised by opposition leader Raila Odinga began in March. They were briefly halted in April and May after President William Ruto agreed to dialogue, but the talks broke down.

The weekly July demonstrations are the third round of protests, which have turned deadly (archived here).

But the photo does not show a police officer dressed in civilian clothes masquerading as a journalist.

Real journalist

A reverse image search revealed the image has been online since March when it appeared on the People Daily newspaper website (archived here).

It shows Africa Uncensored journalist Clint Obere alighting from a police vehicle after being released from detention. He had been arrested while covering the first round of Odinga’s protests in Nairobi’s Mathare slums in March 2023.

Screenshot showing the original image from the People Daily newspaper website

The photo is credited to People Daily journalist Kenna Claude.

“The photo shows when the police arrested me and a colleague in Mathare while covering the March protests. At the time, we were interviewing some locals by the roadside. But we were set free without charges after some fellow journalists intervened,” Obere told AFP Fact Check in a phone interview.

You can read other debunks on the Kenyan protests here, here and here.

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Photo of Kenyan journalist misrepresented as plain-clothed police ‘harassing’ tax hike protesters

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