A post on Facebook alleging that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has released a security brief warning of an impending terror attack in Nairobi is fake.
The statement dated August 23, 2023, and purportedly signed by the Nairobi Directorate of Criminal Investigations Regional Coordinator Peter N. Nthigah was posted on August 26.
“There must be something fishy that took place at JKIA yesterday. Blackout at the airport isn’t normal,” the Facebook user captioned the post.
“Al Shabaab plans to conduct terror attacks within Nairobi before the end of August 2023 and in September 2023 targeting bases of Western troops in Kenya as well as hotels as social places frequented by Western diplomats in Nairobi,” read part of the statement.
Upon checking on the National Police Service X account for any information relating to the statement, there was none.
The DCI stamped the letter as fake on their X account (formerly Twitter).
“This report doing rounds in sections of the media is FAKE NEWS,” DCI wrote.
The fake statement came in the wake of Kenya celebrating 10 years since Al Shabaab attacked Westgate Mall On September 21, 2013.
The DCI said the security lapses that allowed al Shabaab terrorists to attack and kill people at the Westgate Mall ten years ago have been sealed, putting to rest the possibility of a repeat of the incident.
This fact check was published by The Star Factcheck desk with technical support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck newsdesk, through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).