Has Tanzania Issued A 48-Hour Ultimatum For South Africans To Leave Its Country?
A Facebook page, African Eye Reporters claims that Tanzania has issued a 48 hour ultimatum to South Africans, halted export and ordered the closure of its borders, as a reprisal to the xenophobic attack ongoing in South Africa.
The post has collage images of Tanzanian president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, her South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, another image shows a man holding an axe with smoke in his background and the last image depicted an ongoing looting of shops.
When this report was published, the post had over 16,000 reactions, comments and shares.
VERIFICATION
NV-A conducted a reverse Google image search on the protest images and it was found that although both footages are linked to xenophobic attacks in South Africa, one of them dates back to April 2015, while the other was published by Amnesty International in July 2021.
Recent news from Tanzania are about internal political issues and reforms, not diplomatic conflict with South Africa. Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan promised a constitutional reform in response to last year’s post-election violence that left hundreds of people dead. Hassan stated that the commission’s findings will guide constitutional amendments and promised the establishment of a reconciliation commission. The president also announced the formation of a criminal investigative body to review the post-election unrest.
Amid regional tensions such as xenophobic attacks in South Africa affecting foreign nationals, there is no indication that Tanzania retaliated with deportations or trade restrictions.
Tanzania’s government has publicly stated that its citizens were not affected by recent unrest in South Africa, which further contradicts claims of escalation between the two countries.
There are no reports from reputable international or African news outlets confirming details of any retaliation to xenophobic attacks. We also reviewed recent coverage from the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation and found no reports of mass expulsions, border closures, or trade bans targeting South Africa.
CONCLUSION
The claim is FALSE. There are no credible reports from reputable international or African news outlets confirming such an order and Tanzania’s government has publicly stated that its citizens were not affected by recent unrest in South Africa.
