A Kenyan senator has been ridiculed after posting a fake photo of himself with Nelson Mandela upon news of the former South African president's death.
Mike Sonko, who is notorious in Kenyan politics for his love of earrings and sunglasses, uploaded the image of the pair together on Facebook with the tribute: "A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."
Unfortunately for Mr Sonko, it did not take long for his online audience to spot his own head looked a little out of place in the picture.
They quickly found Mr Mandela in an identical pose with his fellow 20th Century titan Muhammad Ali, exposing Mr Sonko's image as a dodgy Photoshopped effort.
His attempt had not been helped by marrying a sharpened shot of himself with a blurred Mr Mandela slightly out of focus.
Interpreter accused of faking
Mr Sonko is not alone in being accused of fraudulency following Mr Mandela's death.
The sign language interpreter used at the late icon's televised memorial service at the FNB Stadium, in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, has been accused of making up the signs as he went along.
"The structure of his hand, facial expressions and the body movements did not follow what the speaker was saying", deaf South African Braam Jordaan told the SBS news website. "I was really upset and humiliated."
Mr Jordaan, who is on the board of the World Deaf Federation, added: "What happened at the memorial service is (a) truly disgraceful thing to see."
The interpreter was accused by politicians of "making a mockery" of both South Africa and sign language with his botched attempts to visually relay the words of several key speakers, including US President Barack Obama.
He has reportedly been accused previously of faking signs at political events.
The Photoshop-friendly Mr Sonko, who is senator for Nairobi, has also made unwelcome headlines before after falling foul of political rules with his commitment to bling.
He was kicked out of the Kenyan parliament as an MP in 2011 for turning up in studded earrings and Ray Bays.
Even his name has a swagger, with Sonko a Swahili term for a 'rich and flamboyant person'. His real name is Gidion Mbuvi.
But after his latest ill-fated attention-grabbing effort, Mr Sonko may wish to keep the sunglasses on for a little while longer in public.
Fake ass senator.
ReplyDeleteVery foolish man.
ReplyDeleteHe's too old for this rubbish.
ReplyDeleteThe pic is obviously screams fake!
ReplyDeleteFunny politician with his fake promises and fake picture.
ReplyDeleteThis guy is so cheap.smh!
ReplyDeleteHahahahah I wan die! Nzuzu!
ReplyDeleteEveryone wants the fortune and the fame but very few are prepared to work hard and even fewer will abide with the right principles.
ReplyDelete