Claim: A Facebook user, Samson Barrie, posted an image purportedly showing a modern gateway with the inscription “Welcome to Kenema City, Sierra Leone,” suggesting that the structure is located in Kenema City.
Verdict: False. The image is photoshopped, and there is no evidence that the depicted landmark exists anywhere in Kenema or Sierra Leone.
Full Text
A Facebook user shared an image of a futuristic cityscape featuring a large gateway bearing the inscription: Welcome to Kenema City, Sierra Leone.
Kenema is a city in Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province. Located approximately 300 kilometres southeast of Freetown, it serves as a major commercial hub for the eastern region. The city is widely known for its role in the diamond trade, cocoa and coffee production, timber activities, and regional commerce. It is also home to educational institutions, health facilities, and administrative offices that serve the province
Given the potential mislead, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim. A similar claim was also posted here and here.
Verification
DUBAWA closely examined the image and found several indicators that it is digitally altered. Analysis conducted with the digital forensics tool, JPEGsnoop, revealed the image has either been edited or processed in software. The image did not match the metadata of the known cameras, such as Sony, or taken from the camera of a phone. Again, it showed patterns of images compressed with editing software like GIMP, Paint.NET, or IrfanView. This confirms it was not a photo taken straight from an original camera.
Image of results generated by digital forensic tool/Source: JPEGSnoop
The skyline shown in the image bears no resemblance to Kenema’s known urban landscape. The large multi-lane highway, waterfront setting, high-rise glass skyscrapers, and monumental gateway are inconsistent with the current infrastructure of Kenema.
No official records, government publications, tourism materials, or credible news reports provide evidence of the existence of such a gateway or cityscape in Kenema. The image contains visual characteristics commonly associated with AI-generated or heavily edited images, including unrealistic architectural combinations and disproportionate urban features.
Research shows that Kenema is a town in the Eastern Province and the administrative centre of Kenema District. It is an important commercial city known for agriculture, trade, and diamond mining. However, available descriptions of the city do not mention any structure resembling the one shown in the Facebook post.
Additionally, Kenema is a regional economic hub in southeastern Sierra Leone, with agriculture, mining, and commerce forming the backbone of its economy. None of these sources documents the existence of the landmark depicted in the viral image.
Conclusion
DUBAWA finds the claim false. The image purportedly showing a Welcome to Kenema City gateway is digitally manipulated and does not represent a real location in Sierra Leone. No credible evidence, official records, or publicly available photographs confirm the existence of such a structure in Kenema City.