Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary, Joe Mucheru, has dismissed a poster making rounds on social media of him allegedly congratulating Deputy President William Ruto for his win in the August 9 presidential vote.
The poster was first shared on social media platform, Facebook, with the a photo of the Deputy President in an outfit he wore when he attended a church service on Sunday, August 14 in Karen.
A fact check by Kenyans.co.ke shows the post did not originate from the CS but a parody account that has shared more information previously.
The Facebook post has since attracted about 88 shares with 215 comments.
The CS, in a response, however, flagged the post terming it fake. He said someone was desperate to tell Kenyans that he had welcomed Ruto's win even as the presidential votes verification process was going on.
"This is just desperation... Fake!" Mucheru stated.
By the time of publishing, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was still verifying the presidential votes at the National Tallying Centre at the Bomas of Kenya.
According to the Constitution, IEBC has up to Tuesday, August 16, to declare the winner of the vote that was taken on August 9, attracting at least 14.2 million voters.
The parody account, however, appeared to have taken advantage of the CS's harsh criticism of Ruto's politics during the campaign period by posting sentiments that showed his perceived allegiance.
Mucheru was among government officials whom the DP's Kenya Kwanza brigade had accused of campaigning for Azimio's flag bearer Raila Odinga.
On June 13, amidst heated political temperatures, the CS stated that Ruto's running mate, Rigathi Gachagua, was a blessing to the Azimio outfit.
He said that Gachagua's blunders in speech during campaigns had won Azimio more votes in the Mount Kenya region without much efforts.
"He is a friend of mine, we come from Nyeri. I can say he has been a great blessing to us in Azimio whenever he opens his mouth to speak. These ICT people, when you are telling them you are going to break up a communications company because big companies are bad, what kind of thinking is that?" Mucheru wondered, in reference to Gachagua's speech.
