A Facebook post alleging that Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku hit and killed a motorbike delivery man as he drove himself is untrue. A as fact-check by BusinessToday has revealed that it was, in fact, Samburu Senator Steve Lelegwe who has been accused of hitting the young man.
The post, which was shared by Cyprian Is Nyakundi’s Facebook profile, said: “Kajiado Governor hit and killed a biker by the name Vincent Shirakita Mulamba as he drove himself…..”
On the night of Saturday 16th January 2021, Vincent Moi Shirakita Mulamba died after he was reportedly hit by a car on Olenguruoni Road in Nairobi. The boda boda rider was killed while on his way to Kileleshwa where he operated as a delivery man. He was allegedly hit from the back.
A witness said that they saw the car, a Toyota Landcruiser, flee the scene minutes after the accident occurred. It turned out the car belonged to the Samburu Senator.
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After the incident, the senator said he reported the matter to Kileleshwa Police Station and was redirected to Muthangari Police Station. In his statement, he explained that the deceased was hit by a different car that was travelling in the opposite direction and was pushed over to his lane.
Police said they are still investigating to ascertain whether there is another car that was involved in the incident.
It is apparent that Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku was not involved in the accident, rendering the post fake. A communications officer with the governor’s press department told BT that the claim that Ole Lenku was involved in the accident is “malicious fake news”.
[ This story was produced by Business Today in partnership with Code for Africa’s iLAB data journalism programme, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie ]
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