Posts circulating on social media claim that Ugandan and Kenyan authorities have instructed landlords to stop collecting rent due to the novel coronavirus.
According to the statement,\xa0failure to comply could lead to seven years in jail., The post has been shared on several Twitter (1, 2, 3) and Facebook (1, 2) accounts., AFP ran a keyword search on Facebook and found similar posts purporting to share similar statements from the Kenyan government., Kenya had recorded 16 cases of the novel coronavirus as of March 23, while neighbouring Uganda had recorded nine. Both governments have taken precautionary measures including closing schools and banning gatherings to curb the spread of the pandemic., Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced fiscal measures to cushion\xa0the economic impact of the virus, as local media\xa0reported., At the same time, Kenyan media has reported on pleas from citizens\xa0asking for landlords to pause rent collection because of economic difficulties. Some political leaders in Kenya have also asked the government to provide some form of relief to tenants in order to avoid evictions., In Uganda, President Museveni’s press adviser Don Wanyama took to Facebook to rebuke the claims after what\xa0he called a string of phone calls from journalists., “Good people. The dozen journalists calling me. This thing is trash. It is fake. A very amateurish attempt at creativity. It belongs to the dustbin. I am still puzzled that some people actually believe it,” Wanyama posted., Contacted by AFP, Kenyan government spokesman Cyrus Oguna also flatly denied the claims, labelling the document fake., “The Kenyan government does not use such letterheads,” he said via phone., He told AFP the government would not have the power to instruct private landlords to stop collecting rent., “The government cannot really enter into the business of private parties," he said. "What the government can do is probably plead with the landlords to be understanding because these are unprecedented times and there are those who have already shown mercy to their tenant”., , Copyright © AFP 2017-2020.  All rights reserved.  Users can access and consult this website and use the share features available for personal, private, and non-commercial purposes.  Any other use, in particular any reproduction, communication to the public or distribution of the content of this website, in whole or in part, for any other purpose and/or by any other means, without a specific licence agreement signed with AFP, is strictly prohibited.  The subject matter depicted or included via links within the Fact Checking content is provided to the extent necessary for correct understanding of the verification of the information concerned.  AFP has not obtained any rights from the authors or copyright owners of this third party content and shall incur no liability in this regard.  AFP and its logo are registered trademarks.
Ugandan and Kenyan authorities reject claims that they told landlords to stop rent collection | AFP Fact Check