By Elijah Koome
Attached to this post on X is a video claiming to show Somali people preparing to take over the South African government. The caption further blames South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa for this.
The men in the video are armed with guns and are singing in their native language. According to information from the X platform, Cuttie Cats is based in South Africa and has been vocal on the issue of foreign nationals in that country.
Background
South Africa has been experiencing intermittent waves of xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals in the last two decades. In May 2008, 62 people were killed in xenophobic clashes, and more than 100,000 were displaced. Similar attacks happened again in 2015, 2019, and 2021, with the latter mainly targeting Nigerian nationals. Vigilante groups like Operation Dudula and March and March have been actively harassing foreigners and preventing them from accessing basic public facilities like hospitals. The most recent wave of attacks happened in April and May 2026, with South African vigilante groups and protesters accusing foreigners of being responsible for the rise in crimes, illegal drugs, and unemployment, even though studies have shown this to be untrue.
Verification
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes brings up images and articles directly related to the ongoing conflict in Northern Ethiopia where Amhara fighters (Fano) have been battling the government forces since 2023.
Screengrab of a reverse image search of one of the video’s keyframes
Native Amharic speakers were consulted, and they confirmed that the fighters in the video are singing a patriotic Amharic song that urges them to hit their perceived enemies hard. The song belongs to a genre known as Fukera, which is meant to provide motivation to people on the eve of battle. A close inspection of the video also shows that the fighters are carrying small Ethiopian flags, further proving that the fighters in the video are not Somali and have nothing to do with South Africa.
Verdict
The claim that the video shows Somali fighters preparing to take over the government of South Africa is FALSE.
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