Why obsession with numbers makes us even more gullible

We are now in a world of alternative facts. We have fact-checkers who have been examining statements by our leaders.

Opponents and fact-checkers have challenged some statements that President Kenyatta made in his State of the Nation address earlier in the year. The most dramatic revolves around statistics on road construction where several inconsistencies have been noted in statements by government officials and official figures on the kilometres of roads paved since 2013. The other arena has been the last mile electricity connections. Beyond the inconsistencies between the President and other government officials, there was the expose published by The Sunday Standard recently on how Kenya Power was deliberating reporting ‘fake’ numbers to meet their targets, claims which the company has fought.