A post making the rounds on Facebook claims to show pictures of the purported ongoing construction of Kimwarer and Arror dams after the intervention of Deputy President William Ruto.
Background
The proposed Arror and Kimwarer dams in Elgeyo Marakwet hit the news in 2019 by becoming one of the biggest scandals in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure. It is estimated Kenya lost over Kshs 21 Billion in the scandal, with monies paid to firms and individuals without due diligence and for services and products not remotely connected to dam construction such as the supply of pillows, duvets and bedsheets.
The scandal led to the suspension and, later, the sacking of former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and his Principal Secretary, Kamau Thugge, as they underwent questioning by the Directorare of Criminal Investigations. The duo was arraigned in court on 23rd July 2019 on corruption charges.
Verification
A TinEye reverse search on the images shows that the first image has been used in various web pages all covering the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The first image is used in Latercera’s Spanish article covering the ongoing dispute about the dam between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. The image was also used on Daily News Egypt’s article on March 3, 2020, covering the same dispute.
The second image closely resembles screenshots of an Al Jazeera Arabic channel video, covering the Grand Renaissance Dam, posted on December 15, 2020. A satellite photo of the same image can also be seen in this Associated Press article on talks about the disputed dam.
The last image is from a Reuters article published on November 6, 2019. The photo was taken on September 26, 2019, by Reuters photographer Tiksa Negeri showing construction works on Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia.
Verdict
The claim that the above photos are those of the ongoing construction of the Arror and Kimwarer dams in Elgeiyo Marakwet is FALSE.
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