Viral US Embassy apology statement on Kisumu travel advisory falsified

While some demanded to know what criteria the Embassy had used to highlight Kisumu and not any other part of the country, others demanded an apology.

On realising how the Kenyan public had reacted, the embassy issued a clarification over the same.

In a statement attributable to the embassy spokesperson, the embassy said alerts of this nature to American citizens are common ahead of elections throughout the world, and the United States has no information to suggest the security situation in Kisumu, or in any other parts of Kenya, have been adversely affected by election preparations.

"Kisumu hosts a significant number of US Embassy personnel and is a frequent travel destination for American citizens. The U.S. Department of State has no greater responsibility than the safety and security of US citizens overseas and routinely issues Security Alerts surrounding elections, health conditions, and extreme weather, ensuring US citizens have information that helps inform travel plans," read the clarification.

It is during this period that another statement alleged to have originated from the embassy made rounds on social media.

The Checkpoint Desk reached out to an embassy official who confirmed the statement had been seen and flagged as fake.

Verdict: Having looked at the two statements issued by the embassy, The Checkpoint rates the apology claim as FALSE. The embassy did clarify on the alert and did not apologise or withdraw the earlier alert.