
A digital card published by Nation.Africa, a leading newspaper in Kenya, carries the photograph of Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a renowned lawyer in the country.
It carries a quote seemingly endorsing the selection of Martha Karua, a Kenyan politician and lawyer, as the candidate for deputy president Raila Odinga in Kenya’s upcoming presidential election.
“Now that Raila has picked Karua, criminals and looters of public funds have nowhere to hide. Those pilfering public funds have a reason be very afraid of Senior Counsel Martha Karua as DP and Justice Minister,” the text in the card read. It has been circulated on Twitter and Facebook, where it has spread widely.
Mr Odinga and Ms Karua are contesting the presidency under the Azimio One Kenya coalition of political parties. The other frontrunner is William Ruto and his running mate Rigathi Gachagua, who are leading the Kenya Kwanza coalition of political parties.
Did Mr Abdullahi make these remarks ?
The digital card has a QR Code on the bottom right-hand side. Scanning this QR code leads to the web address of Delighted.com, an online survey company. On the other hand, QR codes on genuine digital cards published by Nation Africa lead the reader to a story published by the newspaper. This suggests that the digital card is not genuine.
A search of Kenya’s mainstream websites did not turn up the quote. Furthermore, Mr Adhullahi himself has condemned the digital card as fake. “FAKE…FAKE…FAKE,” the lawyer wrote on his Twitter account.
