This Billboard Image With The Words “Mpuuga My Thief” Is Manipulated To Deceive. Disregard It

Claim

An image of a billboard in Uganda shared on X (formerly Twitter) with a photo of Nyendo-Mukungwe Municipality MP and Former Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga has been manipulated to mislead.

Next to the image are words which say ”FFE BANNABUDDU TWEBAZA KATONDA OLWOBUWEEREZA BWO” which when translated to English says “US, THE PEOPLE OF BUDDU THANK GOD FOR YOUR SERVICE” and just below is a statement that says“MPUUGA MY Thief”.

**Photo**: *The claim being shared on social media shows a billboard of Mpuuga with the words “My Thief.”*

After conducting an image reverse search, we found out that this photo was also shared by other accounts on X among them was Kankwenza Rukirabasaija, a Ugandan novelist and lawyer.

He shared this image on June 7th, 2024 at 10:06 pm. It was later shared by various accounts, garnering over 2000 likes, 233 retweets and more than 100 comments as of 25 June 2024.

**Photo**: *Screenshot of the X post by Kakwenza.*

FACT CHECK

The fact is that the image of the billboard has been manipulated to deceive. An image reverse search revealed that the statement that says “Mpuuga My Thief” was not in the original image of the billboard which was also posted by Ugaman01 on the X platform.

**Photo**: *The original image of the billboard showing Mpuuga with the actual wording.*

In the original billboard image posted by Whisper Eye, an online news publication, the words “Mpuuga my thief” were not written on the billboard. The image of the billboard was edited to mislead people. The original image of the billboard has a photo of Mathias Mpuuga on the right and the wording says “MPUUGA MY LEADER” not “MPUUGA MY THIEF” as the claim we are fact-checking purports. More genuine images of the billboard were shared here, here and here.

**Photo**: *The left image is the manipulated one and the right image is the actual image*.

Furthermore, the manipulated billboard image has a different letter font, and the word “thief”, has been written in lowercase letters. If juxtaposed with the original image of the billboard, you can note that all letters there are in uppercase and with the same font size as the image below illustrates.

This particular billboard is located in Masaka City just as you enter the main business , Masaka town. The billboards of the legislator were put up ahead of his Thanksgiving ceremony scheduled for 21st June 2024 at the Sports Arena Kitovu.

Conclusion

The image of a billboard claiming “Mpuuga my thief” is manipulated and has been altered to deceive. The genuine billboard has words saying Mpuuga My Leader.

This fact-check was produced by Debunk Media Initiative under the African Fact-Checking Incubator programme, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).