By Naomi Wanjiku
A press release claims to announce an inquiry into the embezzlement of funds from Meru County government in Kenya.
The statement bears the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission’s (EACC) logo and is purportedly signed by the commission’s chief executive officer, Twalib Mbarak.
In the press release, Mbarak faults Meru County officials for the irregular payment of Ksh 2 billion to two companies.
“The commission established two companies Caperina Construction Co. Limited and Caperina Enterprises Limited which were not pre-qualified suppliers were paid for goods not supplied and services not rendered, among other allegations,” part of the press statement reads.
It lists five charges against five individuals who are ordered to appear at the EACC headquarters for “processing and arraignment in court”.
Verification
However, several things are off about the press release. The first one is the incorrect spelling of EACC CEO’s name. Instead of ‘Twalib Mbarak’, the press release spells his name as ‘Twarib Mbarak’.
The second red flag is Mbarak’s signature which does not resemble the one used in other press releases. The press release we are reviewing also omits the name of the organisation that Mbarak heads, which is not consistent with the format of other EACC press releases.
Equally, the positioning of the date on this particular press release is not consistent with other EACC statements where the date is inserted just above the signature.
In most EACC press releases, Mbarak leaves enough room for his signature, but with this one, the signature has been squeezed to fit on the first page.
We checked EACC’s page to see if they had posted the press release in question and found that the commission had flagged it as ‘fake’.
Verdict
PesaCheck has looked into a press release with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission’s (EACC) logo announcing an inquiry into the embezzlement of funds in Meru County government in Kenya, and finds it to be FAKE.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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