• On September 14, the authority announced that Super Petrol will be up by Sh7.58 per litre.
• That meant that Super Petrol will retail at Sh134.72.
The latest review of fuel prices in Kenya from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority has caused an uproar from leaders and the majority of Kenyans.
On September 14, the authority announced that Super Petrol will be up by Sh7.58 per litre, Sh7.94 for a litre of Diesel and Sh12.97 for Kerosene for the next one month.
That meant that Super Petrol will retail at Sh134.72, Diesel at Sh115.60 and Kerosene will retail at Sh110.82 per litre in Nairobi.
The hike, which was historically highest in the country led to the generation and spread of misinformation across social media.
Some social media users claimed that the situation in Kenya was also witnessed in other countries, including Germany.
One of the photos circulated had a caption purporting that motorists in Germany abandoned their cars on the streets as they could not bear the high cost of fuel.
“In Germany, the government has increased fuel prices in just one hour's time people abandoned their cars on the streets and avenues and walked home. Over a million abandoned cars. They had to lower the price When the people are smart the corrupt can’t accomplish their goals,” the post read.
From the caption, it can be noted that the person behind it was in a hurry to pass the information with the motive of influencing the people to go against the prices review, and did not punctuate his message.
Also, there is conflicting information in the message. For instance, that the people abandoned their cars one hour after the changes were made, forcing the government to heed to their demands.
Suffice it to say, the caption is false and the purported claims did not happen in Germany.
The fact-checker has verified that the image of the said abandoned cars on the streets happened in Beijing, China.
The accurate information is that the photo was uploaded on the internet in 2010.
According to Picuki, the photo was taken in 2010 during a traffic jam which lasted for twelve days, with cars spanning a distance of about 100km and it was considered to be the longest traffic jam in the world.
The issue started in August 2010, when the government started to expand the overstretched highway, hence closing some of the lanes.
This hampered the normal traffic flow, taking motorists a week to get through the highway, as opposed to the usual hour.
Therefore, the cases did not happen in Germany.
And if it was the case, it could have been reported in local and international media outlets.
This goes hand in hand with the fake statement that had claimed to be from the chairman of Matatu Owners Association Simon Kimutai, calling for a strike across the country over hiked fuel prices.