Adding to the list of fake news, a Kenyan woman living in the United Kingdom was shocked to see her photo and the caption below it reading, the fourth victim of coronavirus, who died due to the virus.
The woman in the picture is Elsie Kibue who lives in London. Her husband (identified as Robert) showed her a WhatsApp image and a news item that was sent by his friend, claiming the person shown in the picture was the fourth person to die of coronavirus in Uganda.
It was Kibuke's picture indeed. Robert's friend had sent the image and news with the caption: "Hi Robert, isn't this your wife? Somebody sent it to me and said that she is Ugandan."
In response, an equally shocked Robert said: "Who sent you that picture? I am sure that is my wife. If not, she has a twin sister in London [whom] we do not know of."
Actually, the picture of Elsie Kibuke that was shared as a coronavirus victim was taken back in 2012 at Trafalgar Square when Elsie had volunteered at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Speaking on misusing her picture, Kibuke spoke to BBC Africa through video and said: "My picture was used for something that is not true. I am Kenyan; I am not Ugandan, I am alive and well, and I am in the United Kingdom."
She also took to Facebook to express her shock and wrote: "I cannot believe I am about to post this. But here (it) goes. Stop doing this."
The side frames of the original photo she had put up on Facebook were cropped before circulating it as the fourth Ugandan victim of COVID-19.
Kibuke stated that the last time she visited East Africa was in 2013.
"The people doing this, can you stop and think about what you are putting out there because not only are you putting out false information but are also affecting the moods of people's households while you are doing this. And it is not right at all," she said in the video.
As per official data, there are 55 confirmed cases in Uganda but the country has not recorded any deaths from coronavirus so far. The UK has recorded 120,067 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 16,060 deaths as on April 20.
