These images have sparked a variety of reactions online. Some even claim these are condoms being repackaged in Kariobangi, a residential estate in Nairobi.
Background
This is after condoms, mosquito nets and Tuberculosis drugs were reported missing from KEMSA’s warehouse. Similar accusations went up the internet in 2020 over mismanagement of COVID-19 funds which saw the corporation’s CEO, John Manjari Mwangi suspended.
Investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) revealed that KEMSA officials flouted procurement procedures by awarding tenders to companies with six or less months of operation, without credible documents.
Verification
The first image in this tweet leads to a crackdown on counterfeit condoms in Zhejiang province, China in 2018. This same reverse image search further leads to Weibo, whose watermark is indicated at the bottom right of this photo. Police seized over 200,000 boxes of counterfeit condoms from brands such as Durex, Okamoto, Sixth Sense and Jessbon.
The second image on the other hand leads to an article from 2020 of a similar crackdown in Vietnam. Authorities say they seized over 324,000 used and re-packaged condoms. These condoms were being washed and re-packaged in a warehouse in Binh Duong. The owner, Pham Thi Thanh Ngoc claimed she received these condoms once a month.
Similar to the second image, the third was part of the crackdown in Vietnam. This reverse image search leads to a publication by Lenta news website.
The fourth image, just like the first one, was taken during a crackdown of counterfeit condoms in China. It shows fake packets of companies that manufacture condoms in the country. A product manager of one of these brands said these counterfeit condoms were a health risk due to excessive levels of bacteria and fungi.
Verdict
These images do NOT show used condoms being repackaged in Kariobangi, Kenya.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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