No, this photo wasn’t taken at a protest against Kenya’s William Ruto this week

This article is more than one year old.
Published on March 15, 2019 at 15:39
Updated on March 18, 2019 at 14:57
3 min read
By AFP Kenya, Mary KULUNDU

An image purporting to show a protester demonstrating in the Nairobi slum of Kibera this week against Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto has been circulating on Facebook and WhatsApp. But a reverse image search shows that it’s a doctored version of a photo that was taken during a protest after Kenya’s 2017 general election.

The post (here's an archived version) was shared on this Facebook group with more than 900,000 followers on March 13, 2019, and is also being shared on WhatsApp.

A caption accompanying the image begins: “MWIZI NI MWIZI..."A THIEF GOT NO ANY OTHER BETTER NAME, HE IS A THIEF!!!" HAPPENING NOW...kibera residents are demonstrating against the DP H.E. William Ruto.”

A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken on March 15, 2019

But a search using Yandex, a reverse image search engine, matches the photo to one taken in 2017 in Kibera by a photographer for Reuters news agency. You can see the photo available for download on this stock images website.

A screenshot of the Adobe Stock website, taken on March 15, 2019, shows the original Reuters photograph

“A supporter of opposition leader Raila Odinga in front of the barricade in Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, August 14, 2017,” reads the caption.

So clearly the photo was not taken, as suggested by the Facebook post, at a protest in Kibera “happening now”.

There were no media reports of a protest in Kibera on March 13, and a search of social networks produced no sign of a demonstration either.

Looking at the original image side by side with the one being shared on Facebook, you can also see that the original version has been digitally altered to display a cartoon on the protester’s t-shirt.

The doctored version of the image...

... versus the original photo.

The caricature of Ruto is in the style of well-known Nairobi-based cartoonist Gado.

Gado often draws Ruto wearing a turban, after photos of the deputy president donning the head-wrap for a Sikh wedding in 2016 caused a stir on social media.

The words Mwizi ni Mwizi (“a thief is just a thief”) have also been added to the protester’s t-shirt.

Ruto has been at the centre of corruption allegations and an online campaign dubbed #MwizniMwizi, targeting him and other government officials perceived to be corrupt, was trending on Twitter on Kenya on March 13 when the doctored protester image began circulating online.

Ruto dismisses the allegations against him, but a 2018 Ipsos report ranked him in first position among political leaders perceived by Kenyans to be the most corrupt.

Screenshot from the 2018 Ipsos study of perceptions of corruption in Kenya

In January, Kenya dropped a point in the annual corruption ranking produced by campaign group Transparency International, to score 27 points out of 100 -- where 0 is very corrupt and 100 is very clean.

CORRECTION: This article was updated on March 18, 2019 to replace the wrong link 
to Transparency International.

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