Posts falsely claim Kenyan opposition leader promised to ban trade in second-hand clothing

A screenshot from a televised tackle has been shared on Fb along with a declare that Kenyan opposition leader and presidential candidate Raila Odinga promised to ban next-hand apparel traders from metropolitan areas if elected president. But this is fake: Odinga actually claimed he would revive the domestic textile market to enable sellers accessibility quality clothes made locally.

The publish was revealed on Fb on June 7, 2022, and has because been shared more than 120 situations.

It claims Odinga, a presidential contender in August polls, “promised to ban” traders of next-hand garments throughout a televised manifesto speech.

The write-up featured a purported Facebook put up by Kenyan broadcaster Citizen Television, which seemingly attributed a quote to Odinga indicating he needed to spruce up the nation’s towns “like London” in purchase to catch the attention of international traders. 

Screenshot demonstrating the bogus submit, taken on June 10, 2021

Other illustrations of the identical assert appeared on Facebook right here, here and here.

Numerous traders in major open-air marketplaces in Kenya provide 2nd-hand goods imported from Western countries, which includes apparel recognised as “mitumba”.

Odinga, who prospects the Orange Democratic  Movement  (ODM) bash, is the presidential candidate for the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance in a superior-stakes election scheduled for August 9, 2022.

At the launch of the Alliance’s manifesto on June 6, 2022, he sparked outrage on social media when he explained that 2nd-hand clothes bought in the region experienced been beforehand worn by useless persons.

But the assert that Odinga vowed to remove mitumba traders from Kenya’s metropolitan areas is wrong.

The graphic of the purported put up by Citizen Television set Kenya which seems to assist the declare is also a fabrication.

Fabricated quote

A look for for the put up on Citizen TV’s Fb page arrived up empty. 

The font made use of in the screenshot is distinct to what is employed by the news organisation on its official Fb account. 

A side-by-facet comparison of the fabricated publish (L) and a screenshot from the reliable Citizen Tv set Facebook account

“The estimate is fabricated, we did not publish it on our web site,” the broadcaster advised AFP Reality Examine.

Certainly, the quote attributed to Odinga does not show up everywhere in his manifesto speech. 

“Kenyans are only donning 2nd-hand dresses coming from outside the country, which have been worn by persons who are dead. We are heading to go for major creation so that Kenyans who are importing mitumba can have excellent solutions to market regionally,” he reported regarding the second-hand clothes trade.  

Odinga’s spokesman Dennis Onyango explained to AFP Truth Check that the statement was quoted out of context.

“Mr Odinga didn’t say that he will ban mitumba trade or kick mitumba traders out of cities. He said that he will secure the traders by ensuring that they get the very first chance to industry regionally-built garments,” Onyango explained.