Kenya: Old Photograph Used As False Evidence That Kenyan Governor Embezzled Stadium Funds

IN SHORT: A viral photo of a dilapidated shade has gone viral on social media, along with claims that money earmarked for a stadium has been embezzled by the governor of Garissa county.

A photo has been posted on social media with the claim it shows a newly built football stadium in Kenya’s Garissa county, about 370 kilometres from the capital Nairobi.

The photo shows a ramshackle shade, draped in the Kenyan flag. The images are accompanied by allegations against Garissa governor Nathif Jama, accusing him of misappropriating funds earmarked for a football stadium project.

The posts claim that Jama embezzled a significant chunk of the KSh450 million (about US$3.4 million) budget allocated for the stadium in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years.

Specifically, it is alleged that only KSh220 million was spent on actual construction, with the rest mostly unaccounted for.

Jama was first elected governor of Garissa in March 2013. After losing the 2017 election, he was re-elected in August 2022.

The allegations come amid wider public discontent and protests over Kenya’s economic challenges.

The claim has also been published here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)

But does the photo really show a newly built stadium in Garissa county? We checked.

Budget allocations and expenditure

According to official county documents, Garissa’s approved budget for 2021/22 was KSh10.44 billion, of which KSh3.34 billion (32%) was for development programmes and KSh7.1 billion (68%) for recurrent programmes.

The Department of Gender, Social Services and Sports received KSh56.2 million for recurrent programmes and KSh40 million for development programmes, totalling KSh96.2 million.

The highest spend was KSh92.45 million for the construction of the sub-county administration office. There was no mention of stadium construction.

For 2022/23, Garissa county’s approved budget was KSh9.37 billion, with KSh2.81 billion (30%) for development programmes and KSh6.56 billion (70%) for recurrent programmes. The highest expenditure was KSh227.56 million for the construction of the ward administration office.

The sports department received KSh60.66 million for recurrent projects and KSh50 million for development projects, totalling to KSh110.66 million.

Again, the construction of a stadium is not mentioned in this report.

A Google reverse image search traced the photo to an unrelated post, which identified the structure as part of the Kakuma Baraza park in Turkana county, northwest of Garissa.

A spokesperson for Garissa county also denied the claim, saying the stadium had not yet been built.

This photo has also been posted here, here, here, here, here, here and here.