A tweet with a video showing trees being cut and packed in a lorry allegedly at Kakamega Forest is FALSE.
The post reads, “Let's pray for Kakamega forest”.
The claim was shared days after President William Ruto announced the lifting of a six-year ban on logging, which Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya later clarified only applies to commercial forests and not indigenous ones.
The ban on logging was initially imposed on February 24, 2018 but got extended to November 24, 2018. However, the ban was further extended by a year to allow sector reforms.
The Fact Checker has, however, established the video was from another forest and not Kakamega Forest as alleged.
A Google reverse image search of a screenshot from the video leads to similar claims and a clarification from Kenya Forest Service (KFS) on the video in question.
On 16 July 2023, the KFS shared an image from the video in the claim on Twitter and Facebook, clarifying that the activity was from an ongoing operation at a pinus plantation in Chemususu Forest, Baringo County.
“Kenya Forest Service wishes to make a clarification on a lorry *LT13* shown in this post which has been circulating online. Contrary to allegations, the images were captured in an ongoing operation at a pinus plantation in Chemususu Forest, Baringo County & not Kakamega Forest,” reads the post in part.
The government agency further urges, “The public is advised to seek clarifications from the nearest KFS offices in all Counties and Forest stations before spreading and sharing incorrect information.”
The Fact Checker has debunked a video shared on Twitter claiming to show trees being cut and packed in a lorry at Kakamega Forest in the wake of the Kenyan government lifting the ban on logging and established it to be false.
This fact check was published by The Star with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and African Fact-Checking Alliance.