Claim: Lady jumps over double-layered razor wire barricade during June 25 protest in Kenya
Source: Social media
Verdict: Computer-generated image
Researched by Alfa Shaban
Young Kenyans under the Gen Z banner held nationwide protests against the William Samoei Ruto government on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, to commemorate the first anniversary of the deadly protests that took place in 2024.
While the government announced a ban on TV stations broadcasting the protests, photos and videos from the event have been widely circulated on social media platforms like X, Facebook, and TikTok.
One of these images that has gained traction shows a young lady leaping over a double-layered razor wire fence using a stick, suggesting that police officers deployed during the protests were ostensibly chasing her.
RelatedNews
The image, shared here, here, here, here, here, here and here, with similar captions on X, had been viewed over 400,000 times, with 452 comments, 2,700 reposts, and 15,000 likes, which caught GhanaFact’s attention for investigation.
Fact-Check
GhanaFact used Google reverse image as the first step, seeking to verify the authenticity of the image.
We found that a major news outlet, Chimp Reports, had used the image as their featured image for their report on the protest, their caption for the image read: “A protester flees from police officers as demos continue in Nairobi, Kenya.”
GhanaFact found that the image was created by a popular Kenyan visual artist, whose brand name, Minicheps, was embossed at the top right corner of the viral photo.
The local Tuko.co.ke portal in a story about the viral image wrote: “Minicheps, real name Catherine Jepkemboi, created one of the most viral photos of the day. The creative is known for using photo editing software to create mind-boggling images, with miniatures being her most popular creations.”
GhanaFact also observed that she is famed for producing visual images and videos that have humorous takes on real-life scenarios. (see here, here, here.)
The artist herself posted the viral image on X, with a laughing emoji.
Razor wire barricade protest
The use of double-layered razor wire fences became a prominent security mechanism in the June 25 protest. The police used the objects to barricade the National Assembly area, as a preventive mechanism after the protesters stormed the premises in last year’s protests.
Reuters photos also captured a similar use of the wires, which a CNN journalist reported on X that the wires were used to barricade a section of the road leading to the president’s residence in Nairobi.
Verdict
The viral image of a lady leaping over razor wire during the Kenya protests is computer-generated, a piece created by a famous Kenyan visual artist.
