Does This Image Show Kericho Green Stadium Ahead of Mashujaa Day Celebrations as Alleged?

A post shared here on X (formerly Twitter) claims that the image attached shows Kericho Green Stadium “85% complete ahead of Mashujaa Day.” Shared on October 4, 2023, the image attached shows a pristine stadium allegedly in Kericho County.

Background

Mashujaa Day ‘Heroes’ Day’ is a national holiday observed yearly on October 20th in Kenya that is meant to honour freedom fighters who participated in the fight for independence. As is with most national holidays, celebrations led by elected leaders are held across the country in stadiums in various counties.

The president usually delivers a speech to the nation detailing his achievements and plans for the country. While 2022’s main celebration happened at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi, 2023’s main celebrations are set to take place at the Kericho Green Stadium in Kericho County.

Verification

A Google Lens image search of the image shared leads us to a post from May 12, 2021, shared by Former Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui announcing plans to upgrade Afraha Stadium. “This afternoon, Sports PS Joe Okudo and I visited Afraha Stadium which is being upgraded to international standards,” Lee stated. The same image of the stadium’s design was shared by the County Government of Nakuru on its official website in April 2022. See the screen grab below.

The actual images of the Kericho Green Stadium were shared here by Dr. Raymond Omollo, Principal Secretary (PS), State Department for Internal Security and National Administration on October 1, 2023. “We are at the final phase of preparation for the forthcoming 60th Mashujaa Day commemoration, hosted at the Kericho Green Stadium,” Dr Raymond shared.

More recently on October 3, 2023, Kenyans.co.ke published recent images of the stadium still under renovation during a visit by PS Omollo. See the screen grab below.

Verdict

The claim that the image is of Kericho Green Stadium is FALSE.

This fact check was published by Piga Firimbi with technical support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck newsdesk, through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).