A set of online attacks on Environment and Land Court Judge, Jacqueline Mogeni, and High Court's David Majanja, was found to be a coordinated influence meant to tarnish the reputation of the two Judges.
Through the #JusticeMogeniExposed hashtags, the attacks centred on her appointment as a Judge, with several claims that she was rigged into office by Justice Majanja.
“The source further revealed that before the interviews that led to her appointment, Justice Mogeni had already obtained beforehand an elaborate briefing on the nature of the interview and the questions to be asked from Hon. Justice David Majanja, Judge of the High Court, JSC Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee on elections,” this post was shared widely, copied on several Twitter with the #JusticeMogeniExposed.
A reverse search of the image indicates that It was shared here on several Twitter accounts.
Further netizens further alleged that Justice Mogeni never practised law but was appointed straight from being the Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Governors to the position of a Judge.
A series of altered images were also used to attack the two Judges.
Three Twitter accounts that were used to shape this agenda were analysed and data was presented as follows.
One of these is dubbed Jalang’o - @Dennajeal. This account first is an impersonation of the Twitter page of Kiss FM show host and comedian Felix Odiwour’s also known as Jalang’o. This is identity theft as the fake page also used the image of the comedian.
In December 2020, Jalang’o raised concerns over Twitter accounts using his name to swindle unwary individuals.
This fake account made 11 posts using the #JusticeMogeniExposed hashtag.
TruthNest indicates that this page makes 226 posts per day since 2019 and is usually active between 3am and 11pm every day.
The #JusticeMogeniExposed appeared on its timeline 87 times.
Out of its last 2,141 posts, 68% were retweets.
The second account is Kijana ya TUK - @comradefyat.
According to TruthNest, this account shares many tweets within a day and can be flagged as a bot. Since January 1, 2019, it has posted 111 tweets per day and 270 tweets a day for the last 2,159 posts.
In the last 2,159 posts, the #JusticeMogeniExposed appeared 66 times.
This account and the fake Jalang’o - @Dennajeal account were also seen to have reshared the same content and images.
The third account, dubbed Elsa Majimbo Stan!! - @badnbounjee. This is an impersonation of comedian Elsa Majimbo’s Twitter account. The fake account uses her name and image.
TruthNest flags this account as a bot as it makes many tweets in a day and mentioned the same websites many times. The account operates from 12am to nearly 11pm every day.
It made two posts using the #JusticeMogeniExposed.
An analysis of these accounts and the trending hashtag indicates that this was a coordinated attack to spread false information about the Judges. The motivation behind this hashtag is believed to be politically instigated.
The posts also included altered images and unsubstantiated allegations.
The perpetrators identified a target market, Twitter, packaged their claims around the Judges and the hashtag, used a coordinated set of accounts to push the narrative. These original accounts shared several posts, influenced trends and the hashtag was picked by influencers, traders and other Tweeps.
They copy-pasted the same content, posted within a short period of time and amplified content to manipulate trending algorithms.
Allegations against Justice Mogeni, claiming that she never practised law are also false.
Ms. Mogeni is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Human Rights Specialist. In her previous capacities, Jacqueline has worked as a member of the Transition Authority as the Chairperson of the Legal and Intergovernmental Committee.
She also worked as the Gender and Advocacy Development Advisor with SNV Development Organization. She holds a Masters Degree in International Studies and a Bachelor of Law both from the University of Nairobi.
Ms. Mogeni is an active member of the International Commission of Jurists (Chapter one) and the Law Society of Kenya. In 2013, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded her the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS).
This fact-check was produced by Kenyans.co.ke's John Mbati in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
