Photo does not show collapse of ancient mosque in Larabanga, Ghana

“Larabanga Mosque has collapsed under the government who claims to be promoting tourism more. They didn’t do anything to maintain it (sic),” reads a post published on X (formerly known as Twitter) on September 23, 2023.

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Screenshot showing the false post, taken on September 28, 2023

The post contains two images, one showing an ancient-looking building and the other, debris from what appears to be a collapsed mud structure.

The Larabanga mosque mentioned in the post is one of Ghana’s major tourist attractions and is believed to be the oldest and most revered mosque in the country (archived here).

However, the post does not show the Labaranga mosque after it purportedly collapsed.

Bole mosque

A reverse image search found the first picture (archived here) of the upright building on the “Hauns in Africa” website, managed by William Haun, who is part of a Christian missionary group involved in several projects in Ghana.

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Screenshot showing a 2018 image of the mosque in Bole, as published on the “Hauns in Africa” website

The picture shows the Ancient Bole Mosque which was designed in the Sudanic-Sahelian architectural style and was built using mud and wood (archived here).

The Bole mosque is located in West Gonja District, in the Northern Region of Ghana and resembles the mosque in Larabanga.

Using Google Maps Street View, we confirmed that the second photo showing a collapsed mud building depicts the Bole mosque and not Larabanga’s, as the posts claim.

For example, another image of the Bole mosque taken by Haun in 2018 that appears on Google Maps shows several matching features to those of the collapsed building, including a minaret – a tall tower usually constructed adjacent to mosques – and dome-shaped perimeter wall stones.

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A side-by-side comparison of Haun’s image of Bole mosque on Google Maps (left) and the collapsed building

Local media reported that the Bole mosque collapsed after prolonged neglect (archived here).

Meanwhile, Seidu Bashiru, a tour guide at the Larabanga mosque, told AFP Fact Check on September 28, 2023, that “the Labaranga mosque has not collapsed. I have also seen some images on social media, but they show the Bole mosque which has a similar structure to this.”

Bashiru added that the Larabanga mosque, a pilgrimage site for Ghana’s Muslim population, is in good shape and receiving tourists.

In 2002, Larabanga mosque’s minaret collapsed but it was restored (archived here). As a result of the tumble, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) placed the mosque on the 2002 World Monuments Watch.