Is This Video of Military Officers Attacking Civilians From Uganda?

This reply to a tweet shared by the International Monetary Fund claims to show a video of military officers killing innocent people in Kampala, Uganda.  A few days apart, this communication from IMF went up the internet on June 28, 2021 while the reply tweet was published on July 1, 2021.

Background

On June 28, 2021, the International Monetary Fund approved US$1 billion towards the support of the COVID-19 crisis and sustain a post-crisis inclusive recovery. This three-year financing package focuses on creating fiscal space for priority social spending, preserving debt sustainability, strengthening governance and enhancing the monetary and financial sector framework.

Just like some Kenyans, there are Ugandans who have had opposing opinions towards this loan. This answers why this video appeared under IMF’s tweet concerning approval of this loan.

Verification

A reverse image search shows that this video was first shared on June 30, 2021, as a tweet. Addressing the protests in the Kingdom Eswatini, this tweet condemned an alleged brutal attack on the country’s citizens. (See screengrab below)

A second result shows that the same video was shared as a tweet on June 30, 2021 by Swaziland News, an online newspaper. Additionally, this tweet shared a link to an article with screenshots from this same video.

Piga Firimbi established that the language being spoken in this video is siSwati, a dialect spoken by the Nguni people in Eswatini and South Africa. This happened during a time when the government of Eswatini had imposed curfew restrictions amid pro-democracy protests.

The army officers are heard asking the women in this video, “what are you doing outside?”

“What are you doing outside?”

“Do you think we are playing?”

Similar claims regarding these protests have recently been checked here.

Verdict

This tweet claiming this video was taken in Kampala, Uganda is FALSE. Instead, this happened in Eswatini.

This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.