FACT-CHECK: Fake Graphic Falsely Claims All South African Home Affairs Offices Are Closed Nationwide
BY: Oluwatoyin Hawal Momolosho
Claim:
A viral graphic post on TikTok claims that all offices of South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs have been shut down nationwide until further notice.
Verdict:
False.
FactCheckAfrica findings regarding the viral graphic and the available official information does not support the claim that all Home Affairs offices across South Africa have closed.
Full Text:
A graphic circulating on TikTok claims that all offices of South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs have been shut down nationwide.
The graphic features the department’s name and branding, the South African flag and an image of what appears to be a locked office entrance. It carries the headlines “ALL HOME AFFAIRS SHUT DOWN” and “ALL DEPARTMENTS. NATIONWIDE.”
The image also features symbols suggesting that services involving identity documents, passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, permits and applications have been suspended.
At the bottom, the graphic states: “NO SERVICE. NO ACCESS. ALL HOME AFFAIRS OFFICES CLOSED.”
The presentation gives the impression that the government has announced a nationwide suspension of Home Affairs services.
The graphic circulated amid controversy surrounding South Africa’s asylum-processing system and the handling of applications at refugee reception facilities.
However, the claim raises questions about whether the government actually announced the closure of all Home Affairs offices or whether the graphic misrepresents developments concerning asylum applications.
FactCheckAfrica investigated the claim to establish whether the graphic is authentic and whether there is evidence to support the alleged nationwide shutdown.
Verification:
FactCheckAfrica examined the viral graphic, its wording and the evidence available concerning the alleged closure of Home Affairs offices.
The investigation found that the graphic’s claim is not supported by the available evidence. A separate investigation by Africa Check, published on 8 October 2026, reported that the Department of Home Affairs had dismissed the same graphic as fake. According to the report, the department flagged the image on its official X account and urged the public to consult its verified platforms for accurate information.
The graphic also circulated amid developments concerning the processing of asylum applications in South Africa. Following a Constitutional Court ruling concerning the Refugees Act, the Department of Home Affairs issued a directive on 28 September 2026 concerning the acceptance of asylum applications at refugee reception offices.
The directive was followed by operational pressure at some refugee reception facilities, including long queues and protests linked to the processing of applications. However, these developments do not establish that all Home Affairs offices nationwide had closed.
On 9 October 2026, the South African government announced the withdrawal of the directive issued on 28 September. The withdrawal followed difficulties in implementing the directive and concerns about the pressure on refugee reception operations.
However, the withdrawal concerned the asylum-processing directive. It was not an announcement that all Home Affairs offices across South Africa had shut down.
FactCheckAfrica also examined the Hive Detect result supplied for this fact-check. The result displays a 46.8% score for the likelihood of an AI-generated image, a 0% deepfake score, and generation-source results of 49.3% for GPT Image 2, 13.2% for Reve and 0.6% for Flux.
These figures are reproduced from the supplied image and have not been independently verified against the original detector session.
The 46.8% score indicates that the tool flagged the image as potentially AI-generated, but it does not conclusively establish that artificial intelligence was used to create it. Similarly, the 0% deepfake score does not prove that the image is authentic.
The detector’s results must therefore be considered alongside other evidence, including the image’s provenance, official statements and the findings of independent fact-checkers.
Africa Check’s investigation of the same graphic reported that the image was AI-generated and that the department had dismissed it as fake. This provides additional context for assessing the image, although the detector’s numerical scores alone cannot establish its origin.
The graphic’s use of government branding, the South African flag and an image of a locked entrance may make it appear authentic. However, these visual elements do not prove that the department created or authorised the announcement.
Conclusion:
The claim that all South African Department of Home Affairs offices have been shut down nationwide until further notice is False. FactCheckAfrica investigation found that the viral graphic’s claim is not supported by the available evidence. The reported controversy concerned asylum applications and operational pressure at refugee reception facilities, not an announced nationwide closure of all Home Affairs offices.
The supplied Hive Detect image flags the graphic as potentially AI-generated, but the detector’s scores alone cannot conclusively establish its origin. The public is advised to verify announcements about government services through official departmental channels before sharing them on social media.
The viral shutdown graphic
Hive Detect results
