Kisii County Senator Richard Onyonka has flagged a viral X account spreading malicious information, purporting to be his.
In a statement shared via his official X account on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Onyonka urged his followers to ignore the account, describing it as fake and unauthentic.
The lawmaker stated that the account is being operated by an irresponsible imposter, urging Kenyans to report it.
“The page below raising malicious information on X in my name is fake and unauthentic, being operated by an irresponsible imposter! Ignore and report,” Onyonka stated.
The page below raising MALICIOUS information on X in my name is FAKE and UNAUTHENTIC, being operated by an irresponsible IMPOSTER!
— Senator Richard Onyonka (@RichardOnyonka_) October 22, 2024
IGNORE and REPORT…. pic.twitter.com/1Wk4xKTHNq
Fake account impersonating Onyonka
The account that has been flagged by Onyonka commands a huge following of over 76,000 compared to the lawmaker’s official account which has 40,000 followers.
To make the account look more authentic, the imposter has since verified it.
Since Onyonka has been a great critic of President William Ruto’s administration, with him being vocal in opposing unpopular government policies, the account has been making posts attacking the government.
Multiple incidents
This is not the first time people are impersonating public figures on social media.
Early this month, the National Police Service (NPS) exposed social media accounts impersonating Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja.
In a statement on Saturday, October 5, 2024, the NPS listed five Facebook accounts, which they indicated purported to belong to IG Douglas Kanja.
However, NPS termed them fake, warning Kenyans to be cautious about the information shared with those accounts.
NPS added that the accounts are operated by individuals with the intention of defrauding Kenyans.
“We wish to caution the public against interacting with multiple fake accounts purporting to belong to the Inspector General-National Police Service, IG Douglas Kanja,” the statement read in part.
“The existing accounts are maintained by imposters with criminal intent to defraud unsuspecting Kenyans,” it added.
Prior to that, the National Police Serve had also flagged a social media account impersonating the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the administration police Gilbert Masengeli.
In a statement on Sunday, September 29, 2024, police warned members of the public against interacting with the accounts.
According to the police, Masengeli does not have any personal social media accounts, and the ones on social media are run by criminals.
“We wish to caution the general public against interacting with the multiple fake accounts purporting to belong to the DIG Gilbert Masengeli. The existing accounts are maintained by unscrupulous imposters with criminal intent to defraud unsuspecting persons,” NPS stated.
