Assaulted man in South Africa xenophobic attack is not Tanzanian, says govt

Dar es Salaam. Following the circulation of a video on social media showing a young man alleged to be Tanzanian being assaulted in South Africa, Tanzania’s High Commissioner to the country, James Bwana, has said the individual is not a Tanzanian citizen.

The incident involves a video widely shared online showing a young man being attacked, accompanied by claims that he is a Tanzanian national. These claims have now been dismissed by the envoy.

In the short clip, the man is seen inside his shop being asked to present documents confirming his legal status in the country. He produces the documents and says they are “valid”, indicating they are in order.

However, he is then beaten on the upper part of his body and ordered to close his shop.

Speaking to Mwananchi on Friday, March 27, 2026, Mr Bwana said investigations have confirmed that the man is not a Tanzanian.

“After following up on the matter, we have established that he is not a Tanzanian citizen,” he said.

He added that the mission had earlier begun reviewing the video to establish the full details of the incident and verify the individual’s nationality.

The incident comes against the backdrop of recurring xenophobic violence in South Africa, where foreign nationals have repeatedly been targeted. In 2008, more than 60 people were killed in nationwide attacks, while later outbreaks in 2015 also left several people dead and displaced thousands.

More recently, rights groups say the country continues to experience “sporadic and sometimes lethal” attacks against migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers.

Dozens of foreign nationals were reportedly killed in xenophobic violence between 2015 and 2017, underlining the persistence of the problem.

Analysts attribute the tensions to a mix of high unemployment, inequality and perceptions that foreign nationals compete with locals for jobs and business opportunities, making migrants frequent targets during periods of unrest.