Widely shared image is from 2016 French protests, not Kenya in 2024

“This guy in Kenya is playing tennis with teargas canisters thrown at him by police officers in the current ongoing protests in Kenya in Nairobi,” reads a post published on X on June 18, 2024.

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A screenshot of the false post, taken on June 19, 2024

Kenyan-based users shared the photo showing a black-clad protester in ski goggles holding a tennis racquet, with some posts racking up thousands of likes and shares.

The Finance Bill 2024 sparked fury among many Kenyans, who staged protests on June 18, during which officers lobbed tear gas and arrested hundreds of demonstrators.

A police report seen by AFP said one officer was seriously hurt when a tear gas grenade exploded in his hands.

Some users rejected the claim that the video showed a Kenyan protester, but others applauded the individual.

“We are the Gen Z and we are tired with the government,” wrote one user.

Gen Z refers to those born between 1997 and 2012, with its oldest members around 27 years old (archived here).

“That guy is a leader… protecting at all costs,” wrote another.

But the image is from an anti-labour reform demonstration in France in 2016, not Kenya’s recent protests. 

France, not Kenya

AFP Fact Check used a reverse image search and found the image on the Reuters news agency’s website, captioned “France revolts against labor reform”(archived here).

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Comparison of the false post (left) with Reuters image

Reuters posted the image showing protests in the western French city of Nantes in June 2016. 

AFP took a similar photo of a masked protestor wielding a tennis racquet during a demonstration against the government’s planned labour law reforms on June 2, 2016, in Nantes (archived here).

“More demonstrations against the reforms which the government says are designed to make France more business-friendly -- were set to take place in major cities on June 2…,” reads the caption of AFP’s photo.

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Screenshot from AFP’s photo archives, taken on June 19, 2024

Cost-of-living crisis 

Kenyan President William Ruto came to power in 2022 on a promise to revive the economy and put money in the pockets of the downtrodden. But his policies have sparked widespread discontent (archived here).

He has raised income tax and health insurance contributions and doubled VAT on petroleum products to 16 percent.

While Kenya is among the most dynamic economies in East Africa, roughly a third of the 51.5 million population lives in poverty.

The cash-strapped government had earlier defended the hikes -- which were projected to raise some 346.7 billion shillings ($2.7 billion), equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP -- as a necessary measure to cut reliance on external borrowing.