Kenya protest clip falsely portrayed as 'rally for wanted Philippine pastor'
- Published on September 17, 2024 at 10:56
- 3 min read
- By Ara Eugenio, AFP Philippines
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"KOJC RALLY First Time in Davao City," read text overlaid on a Facebook reel shared on September 2, 2024, using the acronym for Quiboloy's Kingdom of Jesus Christ sect.
It surfaced as police in Davao City searched for Quiboloy, who is wanted in the United States for sex trafficking children and is facing similar charges in Manila (archived link).
The self-proclaimed "Appointed Son of God" and ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte surrendered on September 8 and has pleaded not guilty to charges that could result in a life sentence if convicted.
The video -- viewed more than 78,000 times -- shows a large crowd marching down a street with several participants holding placards.
"It's like Edsa Revolution People's Power," the video's text overlay added, alluding to a peaceful mass uprising in 1986 that led to the ousting of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The video was shared elsewhere on social media alongside similar false claims here, here and here.
"Wow! You're over, BBM," one user commented, referring to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, whose government is overseeing the case against Quiboloy.
Another said: "That's just the general public; it doesn't include the armed ones yet."
Anti-tax rallies
A reverse image search of the video found it in a TikTok post shared on June 20, 2024, more than two months before the police raid of Quiboloy's compound.
The post is captioned "Nakuru well represented", with hashtags "#rejectfinancebill2024", "#Nakuru" and "#Kenya".
Nakuru is a city in Kenya, where large-scale anti-government protests broke out in June against proposed tax hikes (archived link).
The protests quickly escalated into a wider outcry against President William Ruto's administration and continued even after he scrapped the controversial plan.
Demonstrations reportedly broke out in Nakuru on June 20, the day the TikTok video was posted (archived link).
@dannyigiza Nakuru well represented #rejectfainancebill2024#Nakuru#kenya♬ original sound - Dannyigiza
Below is a screenshot comparison between the video shared in false posts (left) and the TikTok video (right):
AFP confirmed the video was filmed in Nakuru by comparing it to Google Maps images from Mburu Gichua Road in the city (archived link).
AFP previously debunked posts falsely linking the clip to anti-hunger protests in Nigeria.
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