A photo of burnt cows in a lorry was shared on January 14, 2021 in a tweet claiming that boda boda riders in Nakuru were responsible for the incident after one of them and his passenger were killed in an accident caused by the lorry. The lorry was allegedly ferrying cows to Eldoret from Githunguri.
Background
Kenya’s motorcycle taxis, popularly known as boda bodas, have had a poor record of road safety. According to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) crash statistics released on 11th November 2020, motorcyclists and pillion passenger fatalities accounted for 884 and 350 respectively; out of 3,114 road crash-related deaths that year.
Verification
A Google reverse image search shows that the image was actually taken in Nigeria and not Kenya.
An article with the photo in question published on January 12, 2021, by the Nigerian Journal states that the truck was set ablaze by an angry mob for killing a young boy in Saki, a town in Oyo State.
The article titled “Angry mob set truck full of cattle ablaze for allegedly crushing boy in Saki Oyo state” also shares a different angle of the burnt lorry as seen below.
News of vehicles being torched after accidents involving boda boda riders occur are however not new to Kenya. In July 2020, The Nation reported that “Irate boda boda riders set ablaze a goods transit truck in Eldoret town after the driver of the truck hit and killed a boda boda rider at Annex area along Eldoret-Nakuru highway. The driver who was escaping the wrath of the riders also hit and killed a pedestrian as he was driving away for his safety to a nearby police station.”
On February 28, 2017, NTV Kenya reported: “Fifteen heavy-duty vehicles belonging to a Timber Manufacturing company were torched in Mariashoni in Nakuru County after two people died following a collision of a truck and a motorcycle.”
Verdict
The claim that boda boda riders in Nakuru, Kenya, set ablaze a truck ferrying cows is FALSE.
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