Yesterday, a British owned publication issued a clarification on a report claiming that there was an assassination plot against President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Responding to the alleged claim accompanied by a screenshot of the article on the website, the managing editor Bryan Pearson and Editor Patrick Smith stated that the reports were fake.
“This is to inform you that a meme circulating on social media today purportedly of a story published by Africa Confidential with the headline “The Plot to Assassinate Uhuru” is a fabrication,” the editors conveyed.
The team explained that no such story had been published on their website while referring to their digital archive.
Pearson and Smith maintained that they were determined to uphold the need for reliable and accurate information while rejecting attempts to manipulate print and electronic media.
“Our editorial team goes to great lengths to check the accuracy of all our reports and analyses – it is central to our journalistic commitment to you. Only fully verified reports will appear on the Africa Confidential website and archive and linked to our social media feeds,” they noted.
The publication assured that it was in the process of tracking down the culprits responsible for the fabrication. The report made rounds on social media on Friday, May 22 with screenshots shared by a number of influential online personalities.
The screenshot referenced a report from Uganda’s Internal Security Organisation (ISO) that claimed that a Ugandan Intelligence Officer intercepted an assassination plot on Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on January 19, 2019, a report Africa Intelligence dismissed as fabricated.
Communication and Digital Strategist Dennis Itumbi raised the alarm over the false report online.
“Today, bloggers shared a fake story and attributed it to Africa Intelligence. It turns out it was a fabrication aimed at stoking emotions,” he stated on Friday, May 22.
Africa Confidential is a newsletter covering politics and economics in Africa, established in 1960 and is owned by the British company Asempa Limited.
