• A May 2024 news article quoted then-RAF chief executive Collins Letsoalo as saying the fund paid out R18 billion in claims to non-South African claimants over the previous five years. The figure was later repeated by fund spokesperson McIntosh Polela and spread widely.

• But credible data shows the amount paid to non-South African citizens was about R8.6 billion, less than half of the amount claimed by Letsoalo, Polela and others, and just over 1% of all payments made by the fund.

• While the inflated figure may have fuelled anti-migrant sentiment, experts told us the RAF’s financial crisis, now under investigation, is better explained by internal maladministration and controversial accounting changes.

• Bobi Wine was correct about Uganda’s annual birth numbers, though he significantly inflated the share of the national budget spent on debt servicing.

• Nathan Nandala Mafabi’s claims on the primary school completion rate and youth unemployment figures were not supported by the evidence.

• In contrast, Gregory Mugisha Muntu was mostly accurate in saying that 70% of Ugandans rely on agriculture, but he understated tourist arrivals to exaggerate the gap with neighbours Kenya and Tanzania.

• Frank Bulira Kabinga made several inaccurate claims about the United Arab Emirates, including Filipino migrant workers’ pay. Joseph Elton Mabirizi understated the size of Uganda’s combined police and military forces.  

• Our 2025 Africa Check fellows in Nairobi put their new verification skills to work by examining two major claims circulating in Algeria and Sierra Leone.

• One fellow investigated false anti-vaccine narratives spread during Algeria’s national diphtheria vaccination drive – including the baseless claim that the disease is “fabricated”. The evidence is clear: diphtheria is real, dangerous and preventable only through proper vaccination and treatment.

• Another fellow looked into a rumour gaining traction ahead of Sierra Leone’s 2028 election: that the country’s two main political parties supposedly “swap power” every 10 years. While each has governed for roughly a decade at a time in recent history, there is no agreement or rule mandating such an alternation.

• Both reports were produced during the 2025 Africa Check fellowship in Nairobi, Kenya, generously supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Our Nairobi fellowship brought together 5 emerging journalists and fact-checkers from Algeria, Lesotho, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda for two weeks of intensive training in verification, AI tools and data analysis.

Their reflections — “life-changing”, “humbling yet empowering”, “phenomenal” — speak to the programme's lasting impact.

With your support, we can open doors for more young journalists across the continent. Donate today and help strengthen information integrity in Africa.

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, despite being widely shared.

FALSE: Don’t believe claims that a homemade mix of spices can cure heart disease or heart failure. These are serious medical conditions that require proper diagnosis and treatment by trained healthcare professionals, not home remedies.

FALSE: Can a common weed known as Mexican poppy cure multiple types of cancer and sexually transmitted infections? No, there is no research to back this claim up, and all parts of the Mexican poppy plant are considered toxic.

PARTLY FALSE: A Facebook reel advises people with diabetes to avoid grains, especially millets, because they turn to glucose after digestion. But medical research shows there are health benefits to some grains, and millet is good for managing diabetes and high blood sugar.

PARTLY FALSE: Social media posts advertising administrative and registry jobs at the South African National Defence Force are not affiliated with the army. The positions are genuine, but the posts misrepresent the application process and requirements. 

SCAM: Claims that people can apply to be a “hospital general worker”, “with just grade 10” and “no experience needed” are a scam. Expect more of these scams as the holiday season approaches.

SCAM: Fake job adverts are circulating on Facebook for positions at South African pizza chain Debonairs. But the ads are not from official accounts, omit key details and give contradictory instructions. Ignore them.

Kenya 🇰🇪

FALSE: A viral video claims that David Ndakwa, the ruling party’s newly elected MP for Malava in Kenya, has died. But this is false. Ndakwa was sworn in days after the claim began circulating.

FALSE: Ignore this manipulated video of former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta calling the 2022 election of president William Ruto a ‘mistake’.

FAKE: A front page imitating Kenya’s Standard newspaper claims Rigathi Gachagua is the country’s worst deputy president. But this claim, and the front page, are fabricated.

FAKE: Taifa Leo newspaper’s e-paper and social media pages confirmed that its genuine 20 November 2025 headline was unrelated to George Natembeya, the governor of Kenya’s Trans Nzoia county. The version circulating online is fake and should be ignored.

Nigeria 🇳🇬

FALSE: Several Facebook posts claim that Nigeria’s minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, was arrested in France in late November 2025. But the claim is false. 

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Your weekly dose of facts in newsletter form is created by Laura Kapelari (@laurakapelari). It is edited by Lee Mwiti (@LMAfrican) and Cayley Clifford (@cayleyclifford).