This road was damaged during a protest in South Africa and not in Uganda
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on November 25, 2020 at 15:16
- 2 min read
- By Mary KULUNDU, AFP Kenya
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On November 19, 2020, this Facebook post shared an image of a road being dug up in sections alongside the caption: "Day 2 : Mbarara #freebobiwine."
Mbarara City is a city in western Uganda.
A block of text added to the image translates into English as: "#FreeBobiWine We shall make our own roads in the new Uganda."
The same post was shared here, here and here.
Political unrest in Uganda
On November 18, 2020, Uganda’s opposition leader Bobi Wine was arrested ahead of a political rally in Luuka district in eastern Uganda for allegedly flouting Covid-19 restrictions on large gatherings. The former pop star's arrest sparked violent protests for two days, leaving at least 37 people dead.
The unrest comes months ahead of general elections in the country and has helped fuel misinformation online, as reported here and here by AFP Fact Check.
While there were violent protests throughout Kampala and other major towns – with youths barricading roads, starting fires and engaging in running battles with police – the picture in question does not show scenes from Uganda.
Protest in South Africa
The same image has been used in other false posts claiming it was taken in other African countries like Guinea and Nigeria. AFP Fact Check debunked those claims here and here (in French).
As our previous debunks established, the picture has been circulating since September 22, 2020, and accompanied by reports in South African media, for example here and here.
The image shows angry residents from Msinga local municipality in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province who had blocked and destroyed a section of the R33 road between the towns of Pomeroy and Dundee following more than four years of complaints to the government about their lack of access to water and electricity.
Gugu Sisilana, the spokeswoman for the KwaZulu-Natal transport department, previously confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the image was authentic.
“Yes, it is the R33 at Pomeroy,” Sisilana told AFP Fact Check on October 5, 2020.
Additionally, the provisional transport department used the image to condemn the act by the members of the public in a Facebook post.
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