By Naomi Wanjiku
This Facebook post claims to show the unveiling of a statue of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta in Limpopo province, South Africa.
“Statue of Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled in Limpopo,” the Facebook post reads. The post is accompanied by a photo of four unidentified people standing next to a statue.
Verification
PesaCheck performed a reverse image search to check if, indeed, that statue is of President Kenyatta. It turns out the image was shared by The Citizen, a South African publication in 2019, and shows a statue of Cyril Ramaphosa, the country’s president.
Limpopo’s Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sports, Arts and Culture, Thandi Moraka, said the sculpture was created in 2018 by an upcoming artist from Tshisahulu in the Vhembe district. The sculpture was created in honour of the South African president, and it is being kept at the Matsila Royal Kraal.
“The statue was not a government initiative but that of our emerging artist who really needs to be supported for him to realise his dream of being an artist,” Moraka said back in 2019.
Additionally, there are no credible news reports regarding the unveiling of a sculpture of President Kenyatta in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. Similarly, State House Kenya has not announced the statue on its social media pages or website. The false claim has also been debunked by Africa Check, AFP and Kenyans.co.ke.
Verdict
PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post claiming to show a statue of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta in Limpopo, South Africa, and finds it to be FALSE.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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