A photo claiming to show Kenyan Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on the floor during his installation as the Mt Kenya spokesperson has been found to be altered. The image shows Kindiki appearing to have fallen from his seat, dressed in traditional regalia and a hat, supporting himself with his left hand as his legs are slightly elevated.
PesaCheck, a fact-checking organisation, conducted a thorough investigation into the image and found it to be doctored. A Google reverse image search led PesaCheck to a similar photo, although it is not identical to the image under review. The photo shared by a media house shows Kindiki seated on a stool as individuals behind him look on.
PesaCheck reviewed the live footage of the event and established that the deputy president did not fall at any point. Instead, his traditional hat fell after he sat on the stool. The live footage shows Kindiki being crowned the official spokesperson of the Mount Kenya region during a consultative meeting of community elders at Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu County on 19 September 2026.
PesaCheck identified several red flags in the image under investigation, including differences between the stool shown in the image and the one Kindiki sat on in the live video. Other discrepancies include the individual on the extreme right, whose hand appears deformed in the image under investigation.
The image under investigation also contains some elements of AI. In the photo shared by the media house, the individual on the extreme right is holding papers, a whisk and a stick, but in the image under investigation, he holds only the whisk and stick. The second individual from the right is wearing a short, well-fitting orange coat in the original photo, while his coat appears longer and loose-fitting in the image under investigation.
Kindiki is still in office as the current Deputy President following the impeachment of his predecessor Rigathi Gachagua. There is no official or confirmed announcement that Kindiki is returning to the Interior ministry or that the deputy president position is being shifted to Nyanza.
PesaCheck has looked into the photo and found it to be ALTERED. This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Key points
- The image of Kenyan Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on the floor during his installation as Mt Kenya spokesperson has been found to be altered.
- PesaCheck identified several red flags in the image under investigation, including differences between the stool shown in the image and the one Kindiki sat on in the live video.
- Kindiki is still in office as the current Deputy President following the impeachment of his predecessor Rigathi Gachagua.
