The post had garnered hundreds of likes before the X account was suspended.
The claim circulated in different languages ​​in other countries on the continent, including Guinea and Uganda, and was adapted to fit local anti-immigration narratives.
But AFP Fact Check found the claims to be false.
Angola 2023
Using a reverse image search, we were able to trace the photos back to articles from 2023 about a bust in Angola (archived here).
One of the women in the circulating photos wears a traditional blue-green wrap skirt that matches the pattern and material of a suspect photographed at the scene of the police operation in 2023.
The blue bin and the plastic crate also match each other.
Portuguese media reported that on December 14, 2023, the Angolan Criminal Investigation Service arrested a group selling dog meat to customers who thought they were buying goat meat (archived here).
Two of the suspects are believed to be undocumented citizens, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Angolan reports identify all three individuals and their names do not match those in the false reports circulating online.
Further online research revealed that the same claim has been circulating about X since December 2023.
Anti-immigrant sentiment
South Africa attracts many economic migrants from elsewhere on the continent, despite having one of the highest unemployment rates in the world (archived here).
The influx, combined with the bleak economic outlook, has led to a rise in xenophobia – often directed at Nigerians – and sporadic outbreaks of violence against immigrants in recent years (archived here).
LUCA WITHOUTAFP
Tensions further rose after a recent row surrounding a Miss South Africa 2024 finalist with Nigerian ties (archived here).
Chidimma Adetshina’s Nigerian heritage sparked fierce xenophobic attacks when she was announced as a finalist for the pageant in July, while the government announced it was investigating claims that her mother may have stolen the identity of a South African woman.
Adetshina eventually withdrew from the competition and was instead crowned the winner of Miss Universe Nigeria.
Another recent incident landed Johannesburg’s newly appointed mayor, Dada Morero, in hot water when he suggested that foreigners should be employed as police officers (archived here).
AFP has debunked several false claims about immigrants in South Africa, including here and here.
