FACT-CHECK: Old News Report of Nigerians Confronting South African Police Predates Current Anti-migrant Protests
BY: Ibraheem Muhammad Mustapha
Claim:
Videos from an eNCA television news bulletin have been shared across Facebook, X and TikTok alongside claims (here and here) that they show Nigerians attacking South African police during the ongoing anti-migrant protests.
Verdict:
Miscaptioned.The television report is genuine, but it shows an incident that occurred in Kimberley in April 2024, not South Africa’s current anti-migrant protests in June 2026.
Verification:
The footage is authentic but has been stripped of its original context.
The clips match an eNCA news report broadcast in April 2024 covering a confrontation outside Kimberley Police Station in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.
A government statement issued at the time said police had been acting on information that a Nigerian national was in possession of drugs. Officers fired rubber bullets after what authorities described as a large group of Nigerians attacked police during the operation.
The official account was disputed by the Nigerian Citizens Association South Africa (NICASA), which alleged that police had used excessive force and that media reports did not accurately reflect the events. The Nigerian Union South Africa also challenged aspects of the police version and called for an independent investigation.
Regardless of those competing accounts, the incident occurred in April 2024, not during the current anti-migrant protests.
On 24 June 2026, the South African Police Service (SAPS) warned that the footage was being recirculated without context. Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola said the video depicted “an incident that occurred in Kimberley in April 2024” and cautioned that resharing old footage risked inflaming tensions ahead of planned national demonstrations.
Otola urged social media users not to circulate outdated videos capable of provoking fear or hostility within communities.
Conclusion:
Miscaptioned. The video is genuine, but it shows a police confrontation from April 2024 and is unrelated to the current anti-migrant protests in South Africa.
