Kenya: News of Kenyan Politician Eric Mutai Defecting From UDA Fabricated, Not Published By Emoo FM

A screenshot of what appears to be a post by Emoo FM, a radio station in Kenya broadcasting in the Kalenjin dialect, has been shared on Facebook.

The 11 February 2022 post claims Eric Mutai has left the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) “for Independent”.

Mutai is running for governor of Kericho county, northwest of the capital Nairobi, in the August 2022 general election.

Party primaries are set to take place on 26 May to select candidates for election.

Text in the screenshot, above a photo of Mutai, reads: “Kericho County Gubernatorial Aspirant Dr Eric Mutai Ditches UDA for Independent After CS Charles Keter Officially Declares His Bid For Kericho Race Through UDA.”

But did Emoo FM report this?

Fabricated Emoo FM post

We searched Mutai’s Facebook or Twitter but could not find any information about his supposed defection.

Searching for the post on Emoo FM’s official Facebook account showed no results either.

However, we found a post where Emoo FM dismissed the screenshot. The radio station wrote: “Fake news alert, be aware!”