- Lawmaker distanced himself from the Twitter account
- Says account has sole intention of creating a wrong impression of him.
Image: ROBERT OMOLLO
Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were has sought House protection from notorious cyber bullies.
The lawmaker claimed the online bullies are impersonating him in social media and making demeaning posts.
The second term lawmaker, making a personal communication on the floor of the House, said the anonymous twitter handle has amassed thousands of followers.
The account, he added, has made over a hundred tweets purporting to have been authored by the lawmaker.
The tweets – according to Ong’ondo – have put him in an awkward position as some are hard hitting on his colleagues in the house.
Some, he said, are peddling propaganda and misinformation.
“It has come to my attention that there is a twitter account by the handle ‘@HonOngondo’ impersonating me and purporting to spread information in my name. It is of great concern that people, including Members of this House, face the same challenges on various social media accounts ,” Ong’ondo said.
The lawmaker distanced himself from the twitter account and urged the public not to be duped into consuming the tweets made from the account.
The MP said he has gone all length to have the offensive account pulled down but his efforts have been in vain.
Instead, the account is still active and spewing propaganda and which get viral as other users also retweet the fake tweets.
Some are screen-grabbed and shared in other social media platforms like WhatsApp, the MP said.
“Despite reporting this grave matter to Twitter management as well as head of Cyber security section within the DCI, the account is yet to be pulled down from the social media platform,” he said.
“In spite of the measures put in place to caution users, many people are being duped and others unknowingly retweeting and spreading fake news.”