Old image causes confusion over convicted ex-Kenyan leader's whereabouts

AFP

4 days ago

Former Kenyan governor Ferdinand Waititu was sentenced to prison on corruption charges in February 2025. But an image recently shared on social media shows Waititu at a hair transplant clinic, and not in jail as expected. However, this is misleading; the image predates Waititu's conviction and subsequent imprisonment.
'Former Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu, who is supposed to be in jail, spotted at a hair transplant clinic,' reads a Facebook post published on July 20, 2025.
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Screenshot of the misleading post, taken July 24, 2025
The image shows Waititu and a man in blue scrubs and a surgical cap, standing in a room in front of a sign that reads 'Artistic Hair Transplant Center'.
Similar claims were published elsewhere on X (here and here) and Facebook (here and here).
Waititu, the former governor of Kenya's Kiambu county, was impeached in January 2020 on charges of gross violation of the constitution, crimes under the national law and abuse of office (archived here).
In February 2025, he was remanded and sentenced to a fine of Ksh 53.7 million ($413,490), or in default, 12 years in prison, for charges involving a Ksh 588 million ($4,527,600) graft case. He was also barred from vying for any political seat for 10 years (archived here and here).
Waititu was first charged in the corruption case in July 2019 (archived here).
Despite appealing his conviction and seeking release on bond pending appeal, Waititu has had his applications denied by the High Court twice and is being held at Nairobi's Kamiti maximum security prison (archived here, here and here).
However, the image purportedly showing the former governor recently at a hair transplant clinic is old.
Old image
AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and found that the image was published on Instagram by 'Artistic_Hair_Centre' on July 20, 2025 (archived here).
'Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, thank you for trusting Artistic Hair Transplant Centre,' reads the post.
The post led some to question if Waititu had been released from prison, as it was not clear when the photo was taken.
In response, the clinic clarified: 'This photo was taken before any legal issues. We shared it to show real results from our work nothing more. We focus on professionalism, not personal matters.'
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Screenshot of the clinic's response on the Instagram post
Speaking to local media outlet Tuko, Jared Kimwaga, the doctor photographed with Waititu, said that he handled Waititu's hair transplant procedures in February and October 2024 (archived here).
He explained that he had not seen the ex-governor since October 2024 and that the photo was reposted to showcase the kind of clients the clinic handles.
AFP Fact Check contacted Kimwaga, and he reiterated: 'It is an old photo that has been used out of context. I performed two hair restoration procedures on the former governor twice last year. The recent photo was for promotional purposes.'
A look at the clinic's website shows that they have promoted their work with other politicians, including former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko, though the photos are not dated (archived here).
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Screenshot of photos of politicians published on the clinic's website
There is no credible evidence to suggest that Waititu has been released from prison.