The original image does not contain the snake imagery.
This image shared on Facebook by a Zambian blogger purportedly showing former Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s motorcade with a flag and number plate containing snake imagery has been altered.
The presidential motorcades of all former and current presidents use an official flag which is positioned at the front of the vehicle as seen here and here.
The eagle flag on a presidential vehicle in Zambia represents the personal standard of the President of Zambia. This flag is specifically used to denote the presence of the President and is flown on vehicles within the presidential motorcade or at locations where the President is present.
However, the vehicle with snake imagery is not a true representation of Lungu’s motorcade.
Upon conducting a Google reverse image search, dozens of references to the original picture came up such as shown on The Lusaka Times and on The Patriotic Front’s Facebook page. The Patriotic Front is the former president’s political party and Zambia’s main opposition party.
From the original picture, it is clear that the image under our scrutiny was manipulated and not reflective of reality.
This blog post was produced by Bloggers of Zambia, under the African Fact-Checking Incubator programme, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance(AFCA).
