Allan Namu Speaks After Being Linked to Exposé on Ruto

Africa Uncensored's John Allan Namu conducts an interview.
Africa Uncensored's John Allan Namu conducts an interview.
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Media personality John Allan Namu has spoken out following a hashtag trending at number one on Twitter, claiming he had published an exposé against Deputy President William Ruto. 

Using the hashtag, bloggers claimed Namu's investigation had found Ruto to be involved in multiple scandals.

Some attached screenshots of newspapers and videos in driving their agenda prompting the investigative journalist to issue a statement distancing himself from the hashtag. 

"By now we are well aware of paid hashtags," Namu stated adding that his followers should take the hashtag with a pinch of salt.

Kenyan journalist John Allan Namu.
Kenyan journalist John Allan Namu.
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The hashtag follows a recent expose done by the investigative journalist where he uncovered a picture of a corrupt system overrun by companies flaunting procurement loans and profiting heftily.

One of the interviewees explained how Atticon construction company won a tender to supply honorary medals to the office of the DP.

"In the tendering committee, everyone had their own documents but you could tell that the people there were from the same company, it was just more of a game. The company that won was Atticon limited which is a construction company but it won for printing services," the source stated.

The spate of paid hashtags has started cropping up a year to the general elections. They are meant to malign a certain candidate so as to lose favour with the Kenyan voters.

The paid hashtags have been used across the divide with previous hashtags such as UhuruMalizaUende also used before.

Some of the other ways to confuse voters are the use of fake quotes from politicians and fake newspaper headlines. The quotes are made in such a way that they appear to the published by credible media houses.

Digital expert Brian Muuo warns that Kenyans ought to be skeptical with headlines as some may be fake.

“False news stories often have catchy headlines. If shocking claims in the headline sound unbelievable, they probably are.

“Look closely at the link. A fishy or look-alike link may be a warning sign of false news. Many false news sites mimic authentic news sources by making small changes to the link. You can go to the site to compare the link to established sources,” digital media expert, Brian Muuo advises. 

DP William Ruto addressing residents at the Funyula Stadium, Busia County on March 12, 2021.
DP William Ruto addressing residents at the Funyula Stadium, Busia County on March 12, 2021.
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