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No, newspaper didn’t report that Ugandan presidential hopeful Bobi Wine spent millions on witchcraft

“Ugandan Bobi Wine spends millions on witchcraft ahead of 2021 polls,” reads the headline of what appears to be the front page of the South African newspaper, posted on Facebook.

Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, is set to take on incumbent president Yoweri Museveni in Uganda’s 2021 election.

A summary below the headline adds: “South African witch doctor claims he was paid handsomely for a ritual that involved human sacrifice.”

The front page was posted with comment: “Bobi Wine starts sacrificing people power supporters to fulfil the demands of a South African sangoma he visited late 2019.” Sangomas are traditional healers.

The post has been shared by other users and on Facebook group pages.

Uganda is set to hold presidential elections in 2021.

But did the South African publish this news about Bobi Wine? We checked.



Paper old, photoshopped


A reverse image search reveals that the cover is a manipulated version of an 11-year-old front page. The original was published on 21 July 2009.

The real headline was “Picture perfect”. It featured an interview with a South African couple about their photography career. The couple later posted the front page on their website, Segerius-Bruce Photography.

The South African was a print newspaper for expat South Africans in the United Kingdom, before it moved exclusively online. Some archived editions can still be read on the Issuu website.

Africa Check previously debunked a post using the same image, where the headline read “Kenyan Odinga spends millions on witchcraft ahead of polls,” while retaining the same summary below the headline. It was also manipulated. – Dancan Bwire




 

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