Influencers are circulating claims about a metallic object reportedly falling from the sky in a Kenyan village, alleging it is linked to ISRO and that the Kenyan government has demanded compensation from India. Some users are also sharing an unrelated old image from India, misattributing it to the incident. However, the Kenya Space Agency has clarified that the object’s origin is still unknown. No official connection has been made to ISRO or any specific space mission. Investigations by the Kenya Space Agency and other relevant authorities are ongoing to determine the accurate details.
Sharing the photo on X (Formerly Twitter) @C_NyaKundiH wrote, Kenya demands compensation from India over 500kg debris from the country’s SpaDex mission which landed at Makuku Village in Makueni County on Monday 30th December. Preliminary investigations by the Kenya Space Agency showed that the metallic object, measuring approximately 2.5 meters in diameter, was a component of a rocket’s separation mechanism.
Kenya demands compensation from India over 500kg debris from the country's SpaDex mission which landed at Makuku Village in Makueni County on Monday 30th December.
— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) January 3, 2025
Preliminary investigations by the Kenya Space Agency showed that the metallic object, measuring approximately 2.5… pic.twitter.com/RGNkUJZZPE
Another account @itskipronoh also shared the photo and wrote. “Kenya has notified India of a compensation demand over the rocket debris that fell and endangered lives in Makueni County. Kasongo is salivating for this one too.”
Kenya has notified India of a compensation demand over the rocket debris that fell and endangered lives in Makueni County. Kasongo is salivating for this one too. pic.twitter.com/yuJzjK60zy
— Cornelius K. Ronoh (@itskipronoh) January 3, 2025
Several other media outlets also reported on the incident and made similar false claims. Their reports can be seen here, nation.africa, tanzaniatimes.net.
The truth behind the claims targeting ISRO, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the image and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis regarding the incident. We found that the Kenyan government has not made any such statement demanding compensation from India.
To verify the claims made by the users and media outlets. We performed relevant keyword searches and found the official statement (1, 2) of the Kenyan Space Agency on their X account. Kenya Space Agency stated, “The Kenya Space Agency wishes to clarify that investigations into the space object fragments incident in Mukuku Village, Makueni County, are still ongoing and the Kenya Space Agency has not reached any conclusions or attributed the space object to any space actor yet. Accordingly, the claim for notification for compensation demand allegedly made by the Government of Kenya is false and should be ignored. Neither the Kenya Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs nor the Kenya Space Agency, nor any other Government of Kenya entity has made any such notification.
Here’s our OFFICIAL STATEMENT addressing the widely circulating claims about notification for compensation related to the Makueni space debris incident.
— Kenya Space Agency (@SpaceAgencyKE) January 3, 2025
We urge the public to disregard these claims and avoid sharing unverified information. pic.twitter.com/IYaR5fI3CB
Additionally, the image shared by Daily Loud is an old image from India where a space object fell from the sky in Chandrapur, Maharashtra in 2022.
Therefore, it is evident from verified sources that the Kenyan government has not demanded compensation from India.
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— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) January 3, 2025
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: Influencers are sharing an image of a heavy metallic object that reportedly fell from the sky in a Kenyan village, claiming it is linked to ISRO and that the Kenyan government has demanded compensation from India. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/oHXzyta0TU
Intent
Influencers are circulating images from Kenya with misleading claims. Trying to set their narrative over the recent incident of metallic fragments falling in the country.
Conclusion
Claim– Kenya demands compensation from India for over 500kg of debris from the country’s SpaDex mission which landed in Makueni County.
Fact– The Kenya Space Agency has clarified that it has not made any such statement. The object’s origin is still unknown which is being verified.
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