IN SHORT: A recently elected MP sparked outrage with his proposal that Kenya’s two-term limit on a president’s service be done away with. But a photo of students in a makeshift log and thatch classroom doesn’t reflect on his record. It wasn’t taken in his constituency – or even in Kenya.
A Kenyan MP who was recently in the headlines for controversially proposing that the current two-term limit on the president’s job be removed has had his development record questioned.
Farah Salah Yakub represents the Fafi constituency in Kenya’s Garissa county. He was elected on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket in the August 2022 polls. The party’s leader is president William Ruto.
On 10 November, a photo of students in class under an outdoor grass-thatch log structure was posted on Twitter with the claim that it was snapped in Yakub’s constituency.
The tweet reads: “A school in Fafi, instead of fighting for development, the area Mp is busy talking of nonsense about scraping presidential term limit.”
The photo was also tweeted, on the same day, with this caption: “This is a school in FIFA, where their MP flights for scrap of the president limit. He is focusing on minors. Can we make this trend by retweets?” It’s been retweeted 373 times, and has attracted 669 likes.
According to Kenyan law a president can only serve two terms.
Yakub’s proposal stoked an uproar, with the UDA, including Ruto, distancing itself.
But does the photo show a school in the Fafi constituency?
Photo posted by Malawi24 news site
Africa Check did a reverse image search on the photo and established that the image was taken in the East African country of Malawi.
It was first posted online on 7 November 2022, on the verified Facebook page of the Malawi24 news website. Its caption reads: “A school in Malawi (Chazale Primary School, Karonga).” Karonga is a district in northern Malawi.
The photo wasn’t snapped in Yakub’s Fafi constituency, or even in Kenya.
