Facebook posts spread false claims about African leaders attending UK queen’s funeral
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 7, 2022 at 18:14
- 5 min read
- By Mary KULUNDU, AFP Kenya
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A Nigerian Facebook page with more than 20,000 followers shared a picture of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa behind the wheel of a bus on September 19, 2022 -- the day of the queen’s grand state funeral in London’s Westminster Abbey.
The post claimed that Mnangagwa had ferried African leaders to the ceremony.
“US president’s official car, ‘The Beast’ was flown to London for US President Joe Biden’s use while African Presidents were driven by a bus by Zimbabwean President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s burial in London (sic),” the post reads.
The post also published other images, including of Biden and his wife Jill, the US president’s armoured vehicle, and African leaders on a bus being shuttled to the funeral service.
A second Facebook post published on September 15, 2022, shared what appeared to be an official letter from Buckingham Palace purportedly rejecting Mnangagwa’s request to King Charles III to attend the queen’s funeral.
“His Majesty King Charles III has asked me to inform you that President Mnangagwa’s request cannot be granted as it would go against the restrictions including those of travel that the United Kingdom has in place with regards to many of the Zimbabwean Governmental leadership and those connected to them,” the purported letter reads.
Then, on September 20, 2022, a post published on the Nigerian Facebook group “Biafran in Diaspora” claimed that only African leaders attending the royal funeral at Westminster Abbey used buses while their European and American counterparts “were given special recognition & arrived on a presidential convoy (sic)”.
The page, which has more than 200,000 followers, is associated with the Nigerian separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra. Previous posts linked to the group have been debunked by AFP FactCheck (here and here).
The post included an image which showed some of the leaders inside a bus, including Kenya’s President William Ruto and his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu.
A similar Facebook post with more than 170 shares claimed “most” African presidents were not invited to the royal funeral at all. Those who did attend purportedly “rode in a bus”.
Finally, this Facebook post shared an image of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, alleging that he was “squeezed in a bus in London”. The post shows Ramaphosa surrounded by people holding onto safety rails above them.
The same claim was repeated on Facebook here.
The various images caused an online stir, with many describing the claims as a show of “disrespect”.
But, while some African leaders were indeed shuttled to the venues in coaches, the claims in these posts are false.
Mnangagwa at the wheel?
A reverse image search revealed the picture of Mnangagwa sitting in the driver’s seat was taken three years ago when he commissioned government-acquired commuter buses for public transport.
Local media published pictures of the event (see here and here).
Mnangagwa, in fact, was not even at the queen’s funeral.
The British embassy in Zimbabwe confirmed Mnangagwa was invited and the letter purportedly sent by Buckingham Palace was a hoax. The 80-year-old leader, however, did not attend because of “other commitments”.
President Mnangagwa has been invited to attend the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
— UKinZimbabwe (@UKinZimbabwe) September 15, 2022
The letter below is fake. pic.twitter.com/cGIGPzIpin
According to local media, he was represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Frederick Shava (see here and here).
Buses for African leaders only?
Ahead of the funeral, AFP reported that heads of state from Commonwealth countries, including Africa with 21 member nations, were expected at the service.
Owing to security concerns, dignitaries – including those from European countries – were shuttled in buses to the funeral (see here and here).
AFP filmed French President Emmanuel Macron disembarking from one of the coaches.
While Biden used an armoured convoy, other world leaders also arrived by their own means. They included Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and former UK leader Boris Johnson.
Amid ongoing tensions, Britain opted to invite ambassadors instead of heads of state from some countries such as Iran, Nicaragua and North Korea.
Russia and Belarus were among a small group of nations excluded altogether following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Other countries not invited were Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Old image of Ramaphosa
Lastly, a reverse image search shows that the picture of Ramaphosa was taken inside a commuter train in South Africa three years ago.
According to this local report – which includes the image – he was on a test ride aboard a new train unveiled by the Passenger Rail Association of SA (Prasa).
Additionally, a Google search of the keywords “Ramaphosa and Prasa train” revealed this video of the South African leader inside the train.
Ramaphosa attended the queen’s funeral and travelled in a bus.
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