The footage was filmed in Mozambique and shows a man fatally wounded during a police operation.
This video shared on X (formerly Twitter) claiming to show South African police officers shooting and killing an African foreign national is FALSE.
The clip shows an individual in a reddish T-shirt being beaten by a group of individuals who appear to be officers. An individual in civilian clothing then shoots the man at close range as people nearby react to the incident.
The clip was shared alongside a claim accusing the South African government and police of killing innocent Africans.
At the time the video was shared, South Africa was facing heightened tensions over immigration, following anti-immigration protests calling for undocumented migrants to leave the country and reported violent attacks against foreign nationals.
But is the video authentic?
A closer look at the video shows inconsistencies that suggest the footage was not recorded in South Africa. For instance, the officers are wearing olive-green uniforms, which differ from those of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
One officer’s bulletproof vest also bears the word “Polícia”, the Portuguese word for police. The audio contains Portuguese, including the phrase “Eh caralho”, which is a Portuguese cuss word.
A Google search for countries that have a police service using “Policia” established that there are six countries namely; Angola (Nacional de Polícia), Mozambique (Polícia da República de Moçambique), Cape Verde (Polícia Nacional), Guinea-Bissau (Polícia Nacional), Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe.
A comparison of the olive-green uniforms with those used by police forces in Portuguese-speaking countries found a close match with the uniforms of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) as detailed in these articles here and here.
Further, a Google reverse search using keyframes from the circulating video led to Portuguese-language reports and videos published by Mozambican media outlets featuring the same footage.
Lastly, the General Command of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) confirmed the incident, identifying the man as Narciso Sambo, who it said was wanted over several serious offences.
The PRM said the operation ended fatally and acknowledged indications of excessive use of force by officers involved. It said an investigation would be conducted, with disciplinary and/or criminal proceedings possible to establish responsibility.
We examined a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) claiming to show South African police officers shooting and killing an African foreign national and found it to be FALSE.
This fact-check was produced by Julia Lemekwane as part of the African Fact-Checking Alliance’s (AFCA)incubation programme. It was produced with peer-mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway. AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools. Editorial decision-making remains with Julia Lemekwane. Want to learn more? Visit: https://factcheck.africa/