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Claim: Viral images on social media suggest a cyclist’s hand was chopped off and his motorbike stolen by thieves in Liberia.
Verdict: False. Extensive online and offline searches did not return any relevant information confirming that the incident happened in Liberia. Meanwhile, social media pages have used the same photos to claim the incident occurred in other countries, including Nigeria and Kenya. The claimant also failed to provide evidence suggesting the incident occurred in Liberia.
Full Text
On May 9, 2025, a Liberian blogger, Yekeh Kolubah, made a Facebook post, including photos, claiming that a young motorcyclist’s hand was cut off by thieves, who took away his motorcycle.
The blogger’s post showed photos of a young man in a jacket with a hand chopped off and a severed hand in a plastic bag. Although the blogger did not specify the location where the incident occurred, his post caught the attentio n of many Liberian social media users, who believed the incident took place in the country.
The post generated over 800 reactions, including more than 200 comments and over 70 shares, in two hours. Although no definite information was given to suggest that the incident occurred in Liberia, many commenters believed it happened in the country because it came from the known blogger.
Their belief was reflected in their comments as some of them called the attention of lawmakers, including Senator Darius Dillon, a strong critic of mob violence, to the post.
“Where is Dillon, who was preaching about stopping mob violence? A family head has been ruined. Where are the mob violence advocates?” said one commenter.
Another commentator also responded: “Senator Darius Dillon should see this. He was speaking about mob violence the last time motorcycle rogues were killed.”
This development triggered our interest to fact-check the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA first contacted blogger Yekeh Kolubah via WhatsApp and Messenger, requesting details about this post and the location of the incident. However, he did not respond to the inquiries.
A Google Reverse Image search produced results of the same photos posted on several social media platforms in Kenya and Nigeria. The one in Nigeria was also posted on May 9, 2025.
A blogger, the Kingpin of Kenya, also made the same claim on X (formerly Twitter) nine hours before Liberia’s Yekeh Kolubah post.
The Kenyan blogger claimed the incident happened at Mariri village, Ntunene ward in Igembe North sub-county. However, no further evidence was provided, and he did not respond to DUBAWA’s inquiry for details.
To address the specific claim that the incident occurred in Liberia, the researcher looked through several credible newspapers and news websites in Liberia, including Frontpage Africa. The Liberian Investigator, Daily Observer, and New Dawn Newspaper, but no such story was reported.
Given the bizarre nature of the story and the recent attention the issue of motorcycle robbery has garnered, it is expected that such a story, if it indeed happened in Liberia, would attract news publication, but none was found.
Conclusion
Based on the above, no evidence supported the claim that the motorbike theft and attack incident happened in Liberia. Posts on the social media pages of people in other African countries, each claiming the incident occurred in their respective countries, also make it less probable.
