Former US President Barack Obama has yet to congratulate President-elect Ruto
Former US President Barack Obama by Thursday, September 8, 2022, was yet to congratulate President-elect William Ruto.
Mr Obama, has kept off commenting on the just concluded general election which was hotly contested between Dr Ruto and Azimio la Umoja coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
On August 15, 2022, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati announced Mr Ruto as the President-elect after he garnered 7,176,141 votes against Mr Odinga who garnered 6,942,930 votes.
The former US Head of State a.k.a Son of K’Ogalo is famous amongst Kenyans who usually associate themselves with him from the fact that his father Barack Obama Snr was a Kenyan.
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During the election period even before the results of the presidential candidate were made public, fake endorsements linked to him went viral on social media.
A video emerged purporting to show the former US President announcing that he was supporting Dr Ruto.
The widely-shared video was doctored to show Mr Obama unveiling a large image of his chosen candidate who was Mr Ruto.
On the voting date, a Twitter thread with screenshots of posts purportedly made by the former US President that had been altered also made rounds on social media.
The thread had two screenshots with tweets allegedly from Obama addressing Kenyans as they vote in the 2022 general election.
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In the first post, the tweet claims Mr Obama advised Kenyan voters to “stay in line for as long as it takes”, adding that anyone with a challenge should contact the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) via “hotline at 1543/1544”.
The second screenshot was asking voters to turn up in large numbers and that they should not stay at home despite threats from what Mr Obama termed as the “deep state”.
Nairobi News has since established that the tweets had been altered and they were posted in November 2020, when he rallied Americans to turn out in large numbers as the country held its election.
There are many apps on the Google store that can be used to alter tweets and make them look real. During the election period, a lot of the apps were used to spread propaganda and misinformation.
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