Viral newspaper front page ridiculing Kenyan opposition politician Kalonzo Musyoka fabricated
IN SHORT: A newspaper front page mimicking the design of Kenya’s Standard newspaper ridicules opposition politician Kalonzo Musyoka by claiming he built a prison to jail his people. However, it is one of many fabricated front pages targeting Kenyan politicians with false allegations.
An image of what appears to be the front page of Kenya’s Standard newspaper claims that opposition politician Kalonzo Musyoka has built a prison in his political backyard instead of valuable projects for his people.
The front page, dated 23 October 2025, carries the headline: “Kalonzo Jails Voters.”
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“Kalonzo Musyoka’s latest ‘development project’ – a shiny new prison in Ukambani – perfectly sums up his vision for the region: confinement instead of empowerment. While other leaders are opening factories, schools, and hospitals, Kalonzo is busy preparing cells,” its summary reads.
It alleges that despite enjoying faithful support from his people for years, he has chosen to reward them “with barbed wire and iron doors”.
“It’s clear he’s not building a future for Ukambani, he’s just building walls around it,” it adds.
“Ukambani” refers to three counties in Kenya that are predominantly inhabited by the Kamba community. They are Kitui, Makueni and Machakos counties.
Musyoka is a prominent opposition figure who served as Kenya’s vice president from 2008 to 2010. He hails from the Kamba community and is widely regarded as its political kingpin. He has declared his intention to run for president in the 2027 elections and is among the opposition politicians mobilising to unseat president William Ruto.
The front page has been posted on Facebook pages and groups here and here.
But is it authentic? We checked.
Fake front page
Africa Check compared the circulating front page with a genuine one from the Standard newspaper and noted significant differences in their fonts, indicating that the suspicious one is not authentic.
We traced the origin of the front page to a Facebook page called Daily Standard, which has previously posted digitally altered front pages mimicking the design of the Standard newspaper. This suggests that the front page in question is likely fake.
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The Standard usually posts digital versions of its front pages on its verified social media accounts, including Facebook and X, as well as on its e-paper platform. We searched these accounts and the platform and located the authentic front page for 23 October.
The genuine front page featured the headline: “Missing: Dead silence.” It highlights the Kenyan government’s silence over its missing activists in Uganda.
The circulating front page has been digitally altered and should be ignored.
