A viral image in the form of a tweet showing that Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan has endorsed the candidature of ODM leader Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua has been flagged as fake.
The tweet emerged on social media shortly after ODM leader Raila Odinga unveiled Karua as his deputy on Monday.
The fake tweet indicated that President Samia had received with gratitude the nomination of Karua as Raila's running mate and asked Kenyans to vote wisely in the coming elections.
"Nimepokea kwa furaha habari za uteuzi wa mama @MarthaKarua kama mgombea mwenza wa @RailaOdinga. Mama Karua anatambulika kote Afrika kwa kazi yake nzuri na ataifaa sana taifa la Kenya. Nawaomba wakenya waitumie vyema nafasi ya mabadiliko," the fake tweet read.
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Loosely translates to: "I have received with happiness news of Mama Martha Karua's appointment as the running mate of Raila Odinga. Karua is recognized across Africa for his exemplary work and he will be very useful to Kenya. I am urging Kenyans to use well their chance to vote in a new government".
The Tanzanian government has distanced itself from the tweet and flagged it as fake.
The country's government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa has labelled the tweet as misleading and asked whoever comes across it to disregard it.
The official Instagram page of the office of the government spokesperson also flagged it as fake.
Fact-checker also combed through the social media handles of President Samia and did not come across such a tweet.
Karua, unfortunately, became a victim of the fake tweet after she quoted it while appearing on Citizen TV's Monday 9 pm bulletin.
"I am also delighted I have seen a tweet by Tanzania's president congratulating us for this ticket," Karua said in reference to the fake tweet.
Though Tanzania's tweet is fake, Karua revealed that she has received a congratulatory message from Ethiopian president Sahle-Work Zewde.
"I am delighted that she took her own time to call and congratulate," Karua said.
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