For the better part of Monday, November 13, Kenyans were left perplexed after a photo of a Volkswagen GTI attached to a disc tractor went viral on social media.
The over Ksh2 million vehicle in question was purportedly being employed for farming activities in Narok, leading to spirited discussions and debates among Kenyans.
At the heart of the argument, were claims from a section of Kenyans speculating that the vehicle had been rented from a company in Nairobi before being driven to Narok where it was deployed for farming activities.
A popular facts sharing social media handle had claimed that a car rental company in Nairobi had noted zig-zag movement on one of the vehicles they had rented out after which, they tracked it to the farm in Narok.
"A rental cars agency, noticed, for over a week, the GPS of one of their cars indicated intense zigzag movement in one location; they checked it out and found this," read part of the post.
However, Kenyans.co.ke, can authoritatively confirm that the reports are false as the photo was taken in Algeria.
A reverse image search on Google Images also revealed that the original photo was taken in November 2018.
However, the search established the part about the car being rented out to a farmer to be true.
Through image analysis of the number plates, it was also established that the typography does not match with those issued by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
While the number plate size matched those issued in Kenya, the vehicle in question had five numbers, contrary to the norm in the country.
Kenyan number plates bear only three numbers followed by a letter. For instance K** 123K.
The number plates of the vehicles also match Algerian ones which bear three numbers and two numbers separated by spacing.
Why Is the Photo Trending?
The photo has been trending globally since last week with various users giving different accounts on where the photo had been taken. Some users claimed that the photo had been taken in the Philippines.
In Kenya, the photo went viral which was partly driven by the fact that farmers in different parts of the country are currently capitalising on the rainy season.
This made the photo believable.
