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FAKE: This Facebook Account Purporting To Issue Statements In The Name Of Kenya’s National Police Service Spokesperson Is An Imposter

PESACHECKJul 22, 20231 Mins read653

[Image/Pesacheck]

This Facebook account issuing statements as the National Police Service (NPS) spokesperson Resila Onyango is FAKE.

The account ‘Resila Onyango’ uses Onyango’s image and has an intro reading “works at Vigilance House”, the Kenya police headquarters.

The account has made several posts, including this one promising police officers better days ahead as the government seeks to improve their welfare.

The account’s bio section does not indicate when it was created. However, it made its first post on 8 November 2022.

A search on Facebook established that several pages use the NPS spokesperson’s name, but none is verified.

A similar search on Twitter did not confirm Onyango’s account.

We, however, found this statement disowning the account we are debunking on the NPS’ official Twitter account and Facebook page.

“The existing accounts are maintained by unscrupulous imposters with criminal intent to defraud unsuspecting persons… Please note that NPS Spokesperson does not operate any social media account and only transacts her official duties through NPS official communications platforms,” NPS said.

In December 2022, we debunked another page purporting to be that of the NPS spokesperson.

PesaCheck examined a Facebook account issuing statements in the name of Kenya’s National Police Service (NPS) spokesperson Resila Onyango and found it to be FAKE.

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PESACHECK -

PesaCheck is a pioneering verification initiative that is kickstarting fact-checking across Africa. Initially focused on verifying the financial and other statistical numbers quoted by public figures in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, PesaCheck is now Africa’s largest with full-time fact-checkers in 12 countries in both east and west Africa, as well as across the Sahel.