A Facebook post claiming that the ruling Jubilee Party will not field a candidate in the Bonchari parliamentary by-elections and will instead support the Orange Democratic Movement's candidate is FALSE.
The post contains a statement purportedly issued by Jubilee secretary general, Raphael Tuju, confirming the decision, adding that the party was acting in the “best interest of various initiatives that will reduce political tensions in the country”.
The post also contains a photo of former Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority director general, Pavel Oimeke, who is the ODM candidate in the polls.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission slated the Bonchari by-elections for May 18.
While the statement is dated March 23, 2021, there is no information about it on the official Jubilee Party Facebook page where the party routinely posts its activities.
Instead, a video of Tuju unveiling the Jubilee’s candidate in the Bonchari by-elections, Zebedeo Opore, alongside other aspirants for various elective seats was posted on the page on March 24, 2021.
On March 30, 2021, Opore was cleared by the IEBC to run for the seat on a Jubilee ticket.
PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post claiming that Kenya’s ruling Jubilee Party will not field a candidate in the Bonchari parliamentary by-elections and will instead support the Orange Democratic Movement party’s candidate, and finds 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.
