Does This Image Show Uhuru Kenyatta Moving Out of State House?

This image widely shared on the internet claims to show President Uhuru Kenyatta allegedly moving out of State House. 

Background

On August 9, 2022, Kenya went into its general election and six days after, the results were announced. However, between August 15, 2022 and September 5, 2022, this election has been defined by quite a number of things. One being low voter turnout. About 65% of the 22.1 million registered voters came out to cast their votes. Despite the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declaring Dr. William Ruto as the president-elect, Azimio La Umoja flag bearer Raila Odinga challenged this decision at the supreme court. 

Another is, allegations that the elections were not free and fair. In a petition tabled to the supreme court by Raila’s legal team, there were accusations of the results being manipulated in favour of Dr. Ruto. Among other concerns, Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate argued that the President-elect, William Ruto did not garner the 50+1 votes required for a candidate to be declared president.

Now that the supreme court’s verdict upheld Dr. William Ruto’s presidential win, constitutionally, the next big step is for president-elect Ruto to take the oath of office within seven days. There is another step that often goes unnoticed, the transition of power. More importantly, when the sitting president moves out of State House for the next to occupy the premises. 

Verification

A reverse image search on Bing directs to an article by Nairobi Wire with the image. This article dates back to 2013, and was taken during the late President Kibaki’s transition from power.

Another search on Twitter, using the keywords “state house Kibaki moving” leads to a tweet shared on April 9, 2013. In this tweet, belonging to Cube Movers, a Kenyan relocation, moving and storage company, is pictured coming out of the State House. 

Verdict

This image claiming to show President Uhuru Kenyatta moving out of the State House is FALSE.

This fact-check was produced by Africa Uncensored with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, African Fact Checking Alliance network and the United Nations Development Programme.