A photo of a man vandalising a newly constructed highway using an axe, allegedly in Siaya County on Tuesday, March 14, was not taken in Kenya.
Kenyans.co.ke conducted research and verified that the event captured in the photo occurred in South Africa, thus dispelling the photo from ongoing mass action called upon by Azimio chief, Raila Odinga.
At face value, the white road markings at the centre of the road differ from the conventional yellow lines used on major highways in Kenya.
In Kenya, dual carriage lanes are separated using either broken or continuous yellow lines. White lines are used to mark the edge of the road.
Alternatively, broken white lines are used to separate ways on roads with multiple lanes, such as the Thika Super highway or climbing and speeding lanes.
Research using Google Lens revealed that the road was the R33 Road, a major highway connecting Pietermaritzburg with Lephalale. It cuts across four major towns; Greytown, Paulpietersrburg, Carolina, Belfast and Vaalwater.
Findings from a reverse search established that the photo was taken in September 2020, when locals from the uMzinyathi District Municipality Head demonstrated against exclusion by the government.
South African media houses reported that the residents claimed that the state failed to guarantee them access to amenities such as water and electricity.
In protests of the poor service delivery, they barricaded the stretch between Dundee and Greytown with huge rocks and dug a trench across the road to impede traffic flow.
Notably, the photo trended in Nigeria in 2020, during the demonstrations against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit accused of extra-judicial killings.
Nonetheless, opposition in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia will all hold protests on March 20.
In Nigeria, the protests will majorly address the concluded elections, while in Tunisia, locals will demonstrate against an attempt to change the Constitution.
On the other end, South Africans lamented the dilapidated state of the country.
