A fake communique purporting to impose a travel ban against Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi was on Monday, December 1, flagged as fake.
The communique shared widely online on social media impersonated the United States Embassy.
In the fake statement dated December 1, Murkomen and Sudi were barred from travelling to the United States indefinitely until further advisory was issued.
“The U.S. Government. US. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in coordination with The US Embassy in Kenya herewith restricts the induviduals named Oscar Kipchumba Sudi and Onsemus Kipchumba Markomen from entering The United States of America,” read part of the fake communique with spelling mistakes.
The fake communique bore the government seal of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with a false signature of the director Mendoza Jaddou.
Kenyans.co.ke spoke with an inside source in the US Embassy who confirmed that no such communique originated from the Embassy.
“The communication regarding the suspension of the two government officials is fake. The Embassy has not issued any such information,” the source dismissed the document in a call.
A close look at the fake document revealed typos, inconsistent fonts and formatting that raised red flags over its credibility.
It was alleged in the fake statement that the two aforementioned government officials were restricted from travelling to the US after receiving bribes and facilitating tenders to the Adani Group Limited.
The fake document further stated that the cessation of movement of the two named government officials to the US was to be effective as of December 1, 2024, at the stroke of midnight.
“The current indefinite entry restrictions into the US denote that there will be a suspension of visa exemption policy and issuance of tourist visa ande-visa” the fake letter further stated.