On June 17, a Kenyan Facebook user shared a disturbing video of a small boy being beaten by another older boy, while being encouraged by a third party who was filming the incident. The now-viral video is also on WhatsApp and enraged Kenyans are demanding for the arrest of the person who recorded it, though not certain as to where the abuse took place.
Background
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, which has now infected over 8 million people globally (and counting), one of the containment measures in many of the affected countries has been the closure of all learning institutions. This has left most of the children under the care and supervision of parents/guardians or older siblings, while others have been left unsupervised.
According to reports, the pandemic has led to an increase in sexual and gender-based violence, seeing as measures taken to curb the spread of the virus have restricted most people to their homes where they may not necessarily be safe.
Verification
A separation of the keyframes coupled with reverse searches leads us to this Facebook page on a post dated June 16, 2020. The caption, which is in French, as translated by Google reads:
The video that outraged the canvas.
Where you can see a child beating his brother violently with the encouragement of an adult filming.
SHARE until we find him
The same page gave an update and photos of the boy on the same day saying they were fine, and that the person who filmed them was their elder brother who is now in police custody as seen in the screenshot below. The page mentions Gabon as the origin of the incident.
A look through the comments on the posts above leads as to another page called Rumeur du Gabon that shared photos from the video, calling for help in identifying the kids so that action can be taken by the relevant authorities. The caption, also in French, is as translated in the screenshot below:
The page also gave an update on the boys, sharing the photos in the screenshot below, in the company of two adults.
The same page also shared another post on the incident claiming that a relative of the family in question had asked them to delete the post, to which they declined. They shared screenshots of the alleged conversation in the post.
Verdict
The disturbing viral video of a child ruthlessly beating his younger brother is not from Kenya but Gabon and the boys have since been rescued and the perpetrator who is their 16-year-old brother is in custody.
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