- The fact checker also checked Citizen TV’s X official account to see if they had posted the post on November 8.
- The post was there with the same photo but the wording is not the same as the one being debunked.
A post shared on X (formerly Twitter) claiming to show a digital card alleging that couples without a marriage certificate will pay a monthly fee has been altered.
“Those Kenyans living as husband and wife without a marriage certificate have been classified as a security threat by Interior CS Kithure Kindiki,” the X post was captioned.
The post, which was dated Wednesday, November 8, 2023, alleges that couples living together without a marriage certificate would pay a certain amount.
“Those living as husband and wife without marriage certificate now pay 2500/= monthly charges,” the digital card read.
The Fact Checker performed a Google reverse image search to determine the authenticity of the image.
The original image has been shared online, as seen here, and here.
The fact checker also checked Citizen TV’s X official account to see if they had posted the post on November 8. The post was there with the same photo but the wording is not the same as the one being debunked.
The Citizen post read: “National ID replacement to cost Sh2,000 from Sh100 and Sh1,000 for a not previously registered ID, Interior CS Kindiki says”.
In a gazette notice dated November 7, 2023, by CS Kindiki, the cost of marriage certificates surged from Sh30,000 to Sh100,000.
However, there was no indication that those living as husband and wife without marriage certificates would pay Sh2500 monthly charges.
This fact checker reached out to Interior Ministry Head of Communications Francis Gachuri who clarified that the post is fake.
However, on Tuesday, Kindiki released another gazette notice dated November 14 that had a few changes. The marriage certificate amount was not changed but there was an addition of persons from countries in the East African community who will be expected to pay a fee of Sh50,000 from the initial Sh5,000.
In the new notice, Kenyans seeking to acquire a new ID will now have to pay Sh300 and not Sh1,000 which had earlier been gazetted.
In the new proposal, Kenyans will now replace their lost IDs at a cost of Sh1,000 and not Sh2,000 indicated in the revoked Gazette Notice.
This fact check was published by The Star Factcheck desk with technical support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck newsdesk, through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).