A Kenyan senator who posted an image of himself with Nelson Mandela on his Facebook account has been caught out after it was exposed as a photoshopped picture.

The image was posted on Mike Sonko’s Facebook page last Friday along with the caption: “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination”.

The original picture however is Mandela smiling with the boxer Muhammad Ali. The photoshopped image features Mike Sonko wearing a pair of sunglasses, looking toward the camera.

The photo has also been edited to feature an outdoor background.

He tagged 10 other people in the image, which has been shared almost 700 times on Facebook.

Members of the public mocked the photo in the comments. They pointed out that when the photo was taken, Mr Sonko would have been just a young boy.

Most of the comments thought the image was funny, which has been ‘liked’ more than 5,000 times.

Some were more offended by the image, however. Peter Ogwankwa Muma said on Facebook “It’s distasteful to manipulate pictures of Nelson Mandela for self gratification at this time.”

Mr Sonko was elected as an MP for Nairobi in 2010, but was kicked out after he refused to take off his earrings and sunglasses in parliament. He was elected as a senator for Nairobi earlier this year.