The Media Council of Kenya has termed as Fake a statement purporting to be from the council condemning the mishandling of journalists by some officials at the office of the Kericho County Governor.
The statement dated August 2, insinuated that members of MCK were bullied and blackmailed during the coverage of circumstances surrounding the embezzlement of funds meant for the Londiani crash victims.
“A case in hand is when our member tried to ask a substantive question. Derogative terms were used which is insensitive and uncalled for since it violates the dignity of a journalist and as such, can present a culture that can easily erode our gains in the industry,” read part of the statement.
However, the media regulator in a post X (formerly Twitter) flagged the communication as fake adding that it didn’t originate from the regulator.
MCK CEO David Omwoyo told the Star Fact-Checker that the council did not even receive any complaint from journalists who were covering the said event.
The communication came at a time the Kericho County government was battling allegations of embezzling Londiani accident victims’ funds raised through Harambee, to assist the 53 fatalities who perished and 24 others injured.
However, the Kericho County Government denied the allegations according to this story by KBC.
County Secretary Wesly Bor days later indicated that all victims had been fully compensated according to this news item by Citizen TV.
This fact check was published by The Star with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and African Fact-Checking Alliance.
