Post shares satirical video to claim a Ugandan official threatened a Kenyan journalist

“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs a spokesperson like this man…,” reads part of a tweet posted on April 2, 2023.

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A screenshot of the post, taken on April 5, 2023

Tinubu is Nigeria’s president-elect. “Asiwaju” is one of his titles (archived here), which he uses on his official Instagram account.

The tweet features a video of what appears to be an interview with CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo, who is from Kenya, and a man who is presented as a Ugandan government minister.

In the video, Madowo asks the guest about Ugandans under military detention.

The unnamed guest responds by saying, “...I would like to remind you where you come from. You are just from here, Kenya, okay and where you come from, you know you don’t ask such questions to the government”.

He then tells the journalist to rephrase the question when “addressing a government official”.

The Ugandan constitution guarantees freedom of the press (archived here), but journalists often “face intimidation and violence” (archived here), especially if they criticise the country’s government, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

But the claim that the video shows a Ugandan minister threatening Madowo is false.

The video shared in the post is satire, with a comedian playing the role of the minister and inserting this footage into a real CNN interview.

Original footage

Using a keyword search for “Larry Madowo CNN interview Uganda,” AFP Fact Check found a 2021 CNN interview (archive here) with Uganda’s foreign affairs minister, General Jeje Odongo.

It is the same clip as the one shared on Twitter, with identical footage of Madowo. However, the parts showing General Odongo were edited out and replaced with footage from a comedian.

In the original video, General Odongo responds to Madowo’s question by saying, “I think let’s get our facts correct. It is true a number of individuals were arrested because of disobeying the standard operation procedures. Some were arrested because of seditious acts they got themselves involved in".

At no point does he threaten Madowo or tell him to rephrase his question.

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A comparison of the original footage (left) and the satirical video (right), taken on April 11, 2023

Satirical post

Using a keyword search for “Larry Madowo threatened,” AFP Fact Check found a longer version of the satirical video (archived here).

The satirical video was originally shared on Twitter and Facebook in August 2021 by Kenya-based comedian Mungai Wamutego, who played the fictional Ugandan minister.

Wamutego, who describes himself as a “content creator specialising in satire", told AFP Fact Check that he “never intended for the video to be taken seriously”.

“The reason behind my video was rooted in my belief that humour can be an effective way to shine a light on the truth and speak truth to power”.