This video surfaced on Twitter on the 6th of March 2020 under the #WhoMurderedKenei hashtag that had become a trending topic in the country.
Kenyans are on the street! They are shouting "Ruto Must Go!" Seems things are hard outside here! @MuthuiMkenya @leemakwiny #WhoMurderedKenei #SafaricomKeneiConnection pic.twitter.com/OREIXqEHfr
— ReAfrique (@AfriqueRe) March 6, 2020
The same video had been posted on YouTube on the 4th of March 2020 with the caption ‘Breaking news: Rift valley residents demonstrate over the death of Ruto Police “Ruto Must Go”.
Background
Sergeant Kipyegon Kenei was found dead on 20th February 2020 at his house in Villa Franca Estate in Imara Daima with a single bullet in his head. He was a key witness in the fake arms deal scandal involving former sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and worked as the chief security officer at the Deputy President’s office in Harambee House Annex.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations announced that investigations have shown that he was in fact killed in cold blood. This put the office of the Deputy President on the spot as surveillance cameras at Harambee House showed that Kenei, Echesa and the investors who were allegedly conned had been there.
Sgt. Kenei was buried on the 7th of March 2020 and investigations on his murder are ongoing.
Verification
A YouTube search shows the same video was uploaded in March 2018. It was also reported, at the time, that the demonstrations broke following the nullification of Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter.
The Twitter video bears the TV47 logo. TV47 started operations in 2019 and there’s no such report or video on their website.
Verdict
There were no protests held in Eldoret against Ruto after Kenei’s murder and the claims to that effect are, therefore, FALSE.
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