IN SHORT: A quote attributed to Kenyan politician Junet Mohamed is doing the rounds on Facebook, claiming Mohamed has admitted that the Azimio coalition lost the elections and he doesn’t believe the nationwide protests will get them to State House. But this quote is fabricated.
A graphic with a quote attributed to Kenyan politician Junet Mohamed is circulating on Facebook.
The quote reads: “The truth is, we lost the elections, that is why I’m finding it hard to trust that demonstrations will get us to Statehouse. We need a different strategy if we are to win in 2027.”
State House is the official residence of the country’s president.
Mohamed is the house minority whip in the national assembly and member of parliament for Suna East constituency. He is also a member of the Orange Democratic Movement, which is part of Kenya’s Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition.
The quote was posted on Facebook on 23 July 2023, a day after three-day nationwide protests called by Azimio coalition leader Raila Odinga against the high cost of living and tax hikes.
Odinga lost the 9 August 2022 election to president William Ruto. But he rejected the results and said Ruto’s government was illegitimate.
Mohamed has been conspicuously absent during Azimio coalition meetings and rallies, raising questions on whether he has defected from Odinga’s camp.
The graphic has been posted here, here, here, here, here and here.
But did Mohamed actually say this about the elections and nationwide demonstrations? We checked.
Quote is fabricated
On 24 July 2023, Mohamed posted the graphic, with the words “Fake News” stamped on it, on his Twitter page (the platform Twitter was rebranded to “X” on the same day).
The quote is fabricated and should be ignored.
