The original image is of Ruto condemning the July 2023 coup in Niger.
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This photo on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook, supposedly of Kenyan President William Ruto calling for the reinstatement of Gabonese President Ali Bongo, is FALSE.
Bongo was detained by a group of senior Gabonese military officers on 30 August 2023, soon after the country’s electoral commission declared him the winner of the 2023 presidential election.
The photo was posted following resorts of Bongo’s house restriction. The image was accompanied by a text indicating that the Kenyan leader released a statement from Kakamega State Lodge, condemning the happenings in Gabon.
https://www.citizen.digital/news/president-ruto-condemns-niger-coup-offers-to-mediate-n324437?source=post_page—–1cdeae6f5b0e——————————–
The video of Ruto’s address was shared by State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed and Standard Digital.
In the video, Ruto is in the same attire as in the image we are debunking.
A Google search did not yield credible results on President Ruto releasing the purported statement at Kakamega State Lodge.
We found this article on the President supposedly condemning the happenings in Gabon. The article cited this video as evidence.
However, using a keyword search on X, we established that the cited video is of Ruto addressing the coup in Niger. Both videos of Ruto predate the events in Gabon.
PesaCheck looked into a photo on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, supposedly of President William Ruto calling for the reinstatement of Gabonese President Ali Bongo, and found it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Rodgers Omondi and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Cédrick Irakoze and acting chief copy editor Francis Mwaniki.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
