‘Leakage’ of forged letters is an old trick in the book

Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju addresses journalists at Jubilee headquarters in Nairobi on May 16, 2017. A fake letter circulated on social media claiming that Mr Tuju advised an MP about campaign strategy. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The correct position, at least according to Mr Abdullahi’s post on Twitter, is that the letter was a forgery.
  • It would be the first time that a politician is telling another about voter bribery using a signed official letter with a party logo. 

Newsmakers know the value of leaked official letters to the Press and that has been put to good use over the years.

On Thursday, in the United States, former FBI director James Comey told a Senate committee that he passed on information to the Press after President Donald Trump threatened him with a tweet after firing him unceremoniously.

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The press loves leaked official documents and secret letters.

The propaganda machine knows that too but as we see today, that effort sometimes lands on its face. 

1. That Ahmednassir Abdullahi had told Jimmy Wanjigi that the Nasa deal is useless if Kalonzo Musyoka does not fold Wiper and join ODM.

This was posted on Twitter and, as has become the norm, found its way to WhatsApp and was spread around on the ubiquitous groups.

It was in the form of three pages of a letter that the senior counsel was purported to have written to businessman Jimmy Wanjigi where he was basically breaking down Nasa, suggesting that it is going to be yet another of those agreements between politicians that are not fulfilled.

The purported letter had the letterhead of Mr Abdullahi’s law firm.

The correct position, at least according to Mr Abdullahi’s post on Twitter, is that the letter was a forgery.

It is also not usual for such politically explosive material to be “leaked” online instead of being handed to journalists to make a meal out of.

2. That Jubilee secretary-general Raphael Tuju had written to Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe.

This was yet another forged letter. It has been on circulation on WhatsApp but appears not to have gained much traction.

In the document, Mr Tuju was asking Mr Wangwe to adopt a strategy used by Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali.

There was a bit about the Deputy President’s supposed involvement and advice in a campaign to have the handout for voters increased from Sh100 to Sh500. He was also reported to be angry with Mr Wangwe.

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The correct position is that the letter is a forgery.

In the photo circulated on WhatsApp, the letter is in a file.

The Jubilee Party’s letterhead sits straight on the page despite the fact that the paper on which it appears is at an angle.

The logo does not bend as the paper bends.

The plain fact is also that the sort of information Mr Tuju is supposed to be passing to Mr Wangwe is not normally communicated using official letters on the record.

It would be the first time that a politician is telling another about voter bribery using a signed official letter with a party logo. 

The language is also tellingly suspect.