TAKEAWAYS

• Solomon Kaweesa has questioned the portrayal of Jesus as a white man in Western films and paintings.
• He claims descriptions of Jesus suggest he was dark-skinned, with curly hair and a large face.
• Kaweesa also urged people to critically examine information about history, geography and powerful institutions.

NTV journalist Solomon Kaweesa has revealed that the popular image of Jesus Christ as a white, long-haired man portrayed in many Western films and paintings does not reflect what he believes was the historical appearance of Jesus.

Kaweesa questioned the widely recognised depiction of Jesus, arguing that the image commonly seen in movies, paintings and other forms of popular culture has shaped how many people imagine the biblical figure.

According to him, Jesus was not a white man and descriptions of his physical appearance should be considered in the historical and geographical context of the region where he lived.

“Jesus was not white like how they portray him in movies. That man we see in the paintings was the son of the Pope at the time. He was never a white man like we see in movies,” Kaweesa said.

He further claimed that some accounts describing Jesus’ appearance portray him as dark-skinned, with curly hair, a large face and a handsome appearance.

“Those who try to describe the real Jesus say he was dark skinned although he had curly hair, had a large face and was very handsome,” he added.

Kaweesa also suggested that information about the historical appearance of Jesus has not always been presented openly, arguing that powerful nations and institutions have historically influenced how information is produced, preserved and presented.

He said people should therefore be cautious about accepting every commonly circulated version of history without questioning where it came from.

“Such information is hidden from us and it’s important to note that every superpower that comes up has its way of releasing information,” he said.

Kaweesa extended his argument to the way Africa is represented geographically, claiming that the continent’s size is often underestimated in popular maps.

He argued that the United States, China and parts of Asia could fit within Africa, pointing to the distortions created by some commonly used world map projections.

His broader message was that people should examine historical and geographical information critically rather than accepting every representation at face value.

“Always take whatever you’re told with a grain of truth,” Kaweesa said.

Historical scholars generally note that there is no definitive physical description of Jesus in the New Testament, while many familiar artistic portrayals emerged centuries after his lifetime and reflect the cultures in which they were produced.