A video going viral on social media showing a group of people carrying items lit up with fire is not of Githurai as alleged by a section of Kenyans.
The video was circulated Wednesday night on social platforms such as WhatsApp and Twitter with captions claiming that the incident was filmed in Githurai.
Some who shared it claimed angered residents were marching in defiance of police actions on Wednesday, June 26.
However, according to the BBC Disinformation Unit, the video was first posted on TikTok on August 8, 2022, by a user called @dopetrend.
On reaching out to @dopetrend, he said that he took the video in Yendi, a town in Tishegu, northern Ghana.
He took the video during the Bugum Chugu (Fire Festival), an annual event filled with joy, rituals, and communal festivities, where families come together to honour their ancestors, seek blessings, and ward off evil spirits.
It takes place on the ninth day of the traditional month called Bugum Gɔli.
The timing of this festival follows the lunar calendar, resulting in a shifting date each year and usually falls within August, September or October.
It has been traced to a YouTube channel where it was posted on August 10, 2022.
The video was also used to spread false information in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on August 13, 2022, where it was claimed that Butembo residents had mobilized to protest calling for the immediate departure of the UN forces.
It was also used in Nigeria on August 18, to spread disinformation against current President Bola Tinubu.
It claimed that the youth had rejected his candidature for president.
