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Claim: Social media users have claimed the Larabanga Mosque near Damongo, within the West Gonja District of the Savannah Region in Ghana has collapsed.
Verdict: False. The reported collapse actually occurred at a mosque with a similar architectural style located in Bole, within the Savannah Region. Using Google maps we found out that the collapse actually happened in Bole and not Larabanaga.
Full Text
Pictures depicting a collapsed mosque have rapidly circulated across various social media platforms, notably X users including @fiifiiadinkra, @officiallordy. These images have been attributed the Larabanga Mosque in the town of Larabanga, near Damongo, within the West Gonja District of the Savannah Region in Ghana. The mosque is believed to be the oldest mosque in Ghana.
With the purported collapse, backlashes have been directed at the Ministry of Tourism and Industry, criticising their failure to ensure regular maintenance, which is believed to have contributed to the mosque’s collapse.
Additionally, some users have linked the incident to a heavy downpour that occurred on September 24, 2023, causing flooding and property damage. These claims on social media have gained traction, amassing over 1,000 likes and retweets in total.
In response to these developments, DUBAWA investigated the veracity of the claims regarding the mosque’s collapse.
Verification
We used Google Maps to ascertain that the mosque that had collapsed is the one located in Bole, rather than the Larabanga mosque as previously claimed.
During our investigation, we employed a minaret featured in the viral photograph as a reference point to confirm the authenticity of the mosque’s collapse.
In a photograph taken in 2018 by William Huan, before the incident that occurred in 2023, we observed that the same minaret seen in the viral image was also present in the image captured by William Huan.
More evidently, a visit by the Upper East Regional Correspondent of Citi FM/TV Richard Forgor to the Larabanga mosque revealed that the mosque is in good standing. In a video interview with the journalist, a tour guide at the mosque, Seidu Bashiru refuted reports that the mosque had collapsed.
“We have also heard on the news that the Larabanga mosque had collapsed, but it is not true. One can see the mosque is still there. The collapsed one is a similar one in Bole and not this one”. Mr. Bashiru said.
Has the Larabanga Mosque collapsed before?
Yes, in 2002, the mosque experienced a collapse. This unfortunate event occurred in the aftermath of a destructive storm that year, which unveiled severe internal damage to the structure.
Subsequently, this disaster drew the attention of conservationists, leading to the inclusion of the mosque on the World Monuments Watch list.
This development created an opportunity for the World Monuments Fund to support the restoration efforts, involving the removal of cement from the building’s walls and replacing it with a traditional mud-based plaster.
Generous funding for this was provided by American Express. With this, skilled experts in mud-plastering were brought in to restore the historic mosque to its former glory.
Conclusion
False. The mosque that collapsed is a similar-styled mosque at Bole and not Larabanga as claimed.
