Fabricated graphic used to claim that Kenyan government plans to issue IDs to ‘3 million’ refugees so they can vote
Published: 20/Mar/2025
Source: Africa Check
By Dancan Bwire
IN SHORT: Outspoken Kenyan MP Aden Duale did not sensationally say millions of refugees in Kenya would be granted citizenship and allowed to vote. This graphic quoting him is fake.
A graphic attributing a controversial quote to Kenya’s cabinet secretary for environment Aden Duale is attracting social media attention.
“We will issue over 3 Million refugees in Daadab and Kakuma with Identity Cards and absorb them as Kenyans. Let them participate in elections and key decision making in the country they live in. The US allows immigrants to vote,” the quote reads.
The graphic features Duale’s image and the logo of Kenyans.co.ke, suggesting that the Kenyan digital news outlet published it.
The Dadaab refugee complex in Garissa county in eastern Kenya was established in 1991 to support refugees fleeing civil war in Somalia. Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana county in north-western Kenya was established in 1992 to support refugees from several countries, including Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 836,907 registered refugees in Kenya as of February 2025, with Dadaab and Kakuma jointly accounting for 726,046 of them.
Duale, a close political friend of Kenyan president William Ruto, comes from Garissa county in north eastern Kenya. He is a Somali.
read further: https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/fabricated-graphic-used-claim-kenyan-government-plans-issue