The image shows casualties of a fuel tanker explosion in Tanzania in 2019.
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This Facebook post with a graphic image purportedly of bodies of churchgoers burnt by a pastor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is FALSE.
The post reads: “A pastor in DRC burnt all his flock, following wat Mackenzie did in Kenya,now this one in Congo.How much trust du u have in ur pastor? We are surely living in a crazy world! Punchline- Faith must be guided by reasoning and if not, we are all going to perish in the name of looking for heaven from the fake religious leaders of nowadays (sic).”
The image shows charred bodies with a crowd of onlookers nearby.
The image has also been shared here.
The post references the Shakahola tragedy in Kilifi County, Kenya, where a Kenyan pastor, Paul Mackenzie, was arrested on accusations of causing deaths of church members who starved themselves to death.
A Google reverse image search to ascertain the origin of the photo brings up other instances where the photo has been used, dating back to 2019.
Among the results is a report by a Ugandan site dated 10 August 2019 regarding a fuel tanker explosion in Morogoro, Tanzania that left at least 60 people dead and more injured.
The image was also shared here, where the report states that the death toll from a fire incident in Morogoro was 100 people.
The incident was also reported here.
A keyword search about the incident returns several reports by news outlets, as seen here, here, here, and here. According to the reports, scores of people died in Morogoro, Tanzania, after a fuel tanker exploded while people were syphoning fuel after a collision.
A keyword search about congregants burnt by a pastor in DRC returns no such incident.
PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post with a graphic image purportedly of bodies of churchgoers burnt by a pastor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC ) and found it to be FALSE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Harriet Ogayo and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Cédrick Irakoze.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
