The post was published by an X account called @Africa_Archives to its nearly one million followers. AFP Fact Check previously debunked the contents of the account (see here, here and here).
A reply to the post – which has racked up thousands of likes and hundreds of reposts – read: “That driver deserves medals and he should work for @SAPoliceService under the high speed pursuit division (sic).”
However, other comments disputed the location, saying it happened in the Caribbean country of Barbados.
The same claim and video also circulated on a Kenyan forum and on X in 2023.
However, the claim is incorrect.
Courage in Barbados
A reverse image search of key frames from the video confirmed that it was shot in Barbados.
According to the country’s local media (here and here), a public transport driver, Marlon Tempro, used his driving skills to thwart a robbery attempt on July 16, 2024 (archived here and here).
The action was captured on the vehicle’s security dashcam.
The footage went viral and Barbadians praised Tempro for his bravery and quick thinking after the couple’s intentions became clear.
“My whole idea was to get out of the situation safely, with as little damage as possible, and come out unscathed and at least go back home to my family,” Tempro told reporters in an interview days later ( archived here).
Barbados Police have issued a wanted persons bulletin for one of the suspects, who was 18 years old. He later turned himself in to police on July 20, 2023, and was charged with a series of robberies that lasted four days (archived here, here and here).
The second suspect, a 16-year-old, was also arrested and charged with the Tempro robbery and use of a firearm (archived here).
South African crime
South African Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said crime was increasing overall when he released the country’s quarterly crime statistics on August 30, 2024 (archived here).
“Crimes we should be most concerned about are murder, rape, hijacking, kidnapping for ransom and extortion,” Mchunu said.
South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world. According to official figures, almost 84 murders per day were recorded between October and December 2023 (archived here).
