False! Kehkeh, not Liberia’s new police vehicle
By: Laymah Kollie
Fact-checking Content
Claim: A Facebook user, Zeayeama Garbo, posted via a Facebook group (Sekou Kalasco Damaro) alleging that the Liberia National Police received Kehkeh (Tricycle) as new vehicles for police operations.
Verdict: False! The Spokesperson of the Liberia National Police, Mr Moses Carter, told DUBAWA that the institution has yet to receive a new consignment of vehicles since the ascendancy of President Joseph Boakai. Also, our fact-check using Bing and Google Reverse Image Search shows that the image used in the claim by the poster is an old photo posted in 2015 by Narialand (a Nigerian blog).
Full Text
The expectation of Liberians to see an improved system of governance by the nearly two-month-old Boakai administration is high. Whether in the economy, justice, delivery, or education, the citizens expect no less than a working democracy with an improved standard of living.
This desire has kept them glued to traditional media, particularly radio, social media, and other available information channels.
On March 3, 2024, a Facebook user by the name of Zeayeama Garbo posted in an influential Facebook group (Sekou Kalasco Damaro) stating that President Boakai has donated Kehkeh (tricycle) to the Liberia National Police (LNP).
“New Police vehicles in Liberia, thanks to the Police IG and the Government of Liberia,” the poster said.
The tricycle image, which carries a printed title of “police” on the back and side of it, appears in motion, and a man in a blue shirt is seated at the back.
The post generated 51 reactions and 33 comments during this article.
In the comments section, some argue that the President’s gesture, as Zeayeama claimed, disappoints Liberia and that the vehicle is not worth considering for using the Liberia National Police.
Also, others argued that the post was fabricated by a supporter of the former ruling party (Coalition for Democratic Change) to spread fake news and disinformation.
The confusion that emanated from this post prompted DUBAWA to launch a fact check.
Verification
In fact-checking this claim, DUBAWAW first contacted the Liberia National Police to ascertain if it has taken delivery of a new consignment of vehicles or ‘Kehkeh’ since the ascendancy of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
The LNP spokesperson, Moses Carter, informed our fact-checker that there hadn’t been any donation of vehicles or ‘kehkeh’ from the president to the Police.
Asserting that if such is done, the public will be duly informed. “Once we do, I will let you know. The information is not to my knowledge,” Moses Carter said.
In further verification, DUBAWA fact-checked the image using Reverse Image Search. The researcher found that the photo was first posted by a Nigerian blog (Narialand) in 2015. In their publication, Narialand claimed that the picture was taken in Ondo State in Nigeria, where Police were using it for operations.
However, Narialand also posted the same image in 2018, claiming to have seen the Kehkeh in Delta State, Nigeria.
Our fact-checker also used Bing to verify further the image, which provided results similar to those of the Reverse Image Search.
DUBAWA also contacted the Minister of Information of the Government of Liberia, Mr Jerolinmek Piah, to ascertain whether there has been any donation of tricycles from President Boakai to the Liberia National Police.
In response, the Minister told this researcher to contact the police spokesperson.
Also, high-ranking officers within the LNP are entitled to a dominant white shirt with a scribble of gold.
Finally, the fact-checker contacted the claimant on messenger to provide evidence to his claim but didn’t respond.
As seen with a blue checkmark, the message was delivered to him, but he opened it to respond at the time of this writing.
Conclusion
Our findings confirm that the tricycle image posted by Zeayeama is from Nigeria, so the claim is false.
