The photo was taken in Eastern Congo.
This post on X accompanied by a picture of bodies covered in plastic bags claimed to be of abducted Kenyan anti-tax demonstrators found dumped in water, is false.
The image shows a group of people wearing gloves, seemingly during a retrieval process, while motionless bodies that seem to have been removed from a nearby water body and wrapped in plastic bags are seen lying on the ground.
In response to the image shared, an X user claimed the bodies are from the killings in Githurai on 25 June 2024.
During the anti-2024 Finance bill protests in Nairobi on 25 June 2024, the police were accused of using excessive force on peaceful protestors by various human rights organisations,
Further, on the fateful day between 8 pm and 10 pm, the police had a fierce interaction with demonstrators in Githurai, in Nairobi, where several people were presumed to have lost their lives.
However, no dead bodies were found to confirm the massacre claims.
Later, during his engagement with Kenyans on X platform, Kenya’s president William Ruto claimed that nobody was killed although some sources indicated otherwise.
To establish the origin of the image, a Google reverse search was conducted and it revealed that the photo was captured in Eastern Congo on June 10, 2024 before anti-tax protests in Kenya.
The image was also used to share news about killings resulting from conflicts in North Kivu, Congo conflicts as seen here, and here, where ADF terrorists attacked villages leaving 41 people dead.
The Congolese Government condemned the attack in which people died in the localities of Masala, Mahihi and Keme, Beni territory, in North Kivu.
This fact-check was produced by Lake Region Bulletin, under the African Fact-Checking Incubator programme, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance(AFCA).
