An image shared on Facebook claims to show a screenshot of a tweet from President Uhuru Kenyatta allegedly saying that the Kenyan embassy in Tanzania has confirmed that the Tanzanian elections were free and fair and that the United States should leave Tanzania and Africa alone.
Background
Tanzania nationals set out for the polls on October 28, when the general elections were held.
On October 31, Tanzania’s electoral commission declared the incumbent President John Magufuli, who was said to have won 84% of the vote, as the winner for the presidential race.
#uchaguzimkuu2020#matokeoyauchaguzimkuu2020 pic.twitter.com/WXug0h0Gaj
— Tume ya Uchaguzi -TZ (@TumeUchaguziTZ) November 1, 2020
However, the election process was regarded to have been suspicious as put in a statement from the United States embassy in Tanzania. The statement that was issued on October 29 indicated that there had been “credible allegations of significant election-related fraud and intimidation.”
Election malpractice cited in the letter from the US embassy in Tanzania included the detention of election candidates, pre-filled ballots and blocking of social media and other communication platforms.
Reports of arrests of opposition leaders are extremely concerning. I urge the Government to ensure the safety and security of all opposition leaders, cease these targeted arrests, release detainees, restore telecommunications, and afford due process under the law to all citizens.
— Ambassador Donald J. Wright (@USAmbTanzania) November 2, 2020
Among the detained politicians included opposition leader Freeman Mbowe, as well as presidential aspirant Tundu Lissu. The two led protests that disputed the election results.
Verification
Twitter suspended President Uhuru Kenyatta’s account, acting upon a request from his handlers, in March 2019.
A report by The East African reveals that President Kenyatta’s Twitter account had been the most followed African leader’s handle on the microblogging site.
According to State House at the time, the President’s Twitter account had been temporarily suspended.
On account of unauthorized access to the official social media handles of H.E the President of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta .All official social media handles for the President have been temporarily suspended to allow for the necessary remedial measures to be undertaken.
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) March 22, 2019
On account of unauthorized access to the official social media handles of H.E the President of the Republic of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta .All official social media handles for the President have been temporarily suspended to allow for the necessary remedial measures to be undertaken.
— Nzioka Waita (@NziokaWaita) March 22, 2019
Normally, Twitter has a window of up to 30 days for a deactivated account to be reactivated, but the president’s Twitter account was never reactivated during this period.
Communication from the office of the president is routinely shared on the State House Kenya Twitter account. However, the State House Kenya account does not contain any tweet asking the US to back out of Tanzanian or African politics.
In connection to the Tanzanian elections, a statement issued on October 31 from the office of the president congratulated John Magufuli for his win. There was no comment regarding the alleged election malpractice in the Tanzanian polls in this statement.
Verdict
A screenshot showing a tweet purporting to be from President Kenyatta saying that the United States should leave Tanzania and Africa alone is FAKE.
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