The false claim echoes harmful stereotypes about Africa’s many countries, cultures and people. The video doesn’t show a “cultural practice” – it’s just people messing about at a festival.

MARY ALEXANDER • 20 JUNE 2024

“This is a cultural practice in Namibia,” reads the caption of a video circulating on social media since late May 2024.*

“A bachelor is seduced by the sisters of his intending bride. If he is aroused, the marriage will not go on because they claim he will cheat on his wife.”

In the 20-second clip, a seemingly unconscious man lies on his back while a woman twerks on his lap and another dances with her skirt over his face. Two men next to them loudly play drums.

A woman in the foreground repeatedly turns to giggle towards the camera. People in the background are heard laughing and cheering.

The claim has been posted in countries as far afield as the USA, India, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Nigeria. It can also be seen here, here, here and here.

Namibia is a southern African country on the Atlantic Ocean coast, between Angola to the north and South Africa to the south.

It’s home to just 3 million people, but this sparse population is diverse. Dozens of languages are spoken there. The Namibia Tourism Board, a state agency, describes 12 different cultural groups with roots in the country.

The claim does not specify which Namibian culture has this “practice”.

Does the video really show a “cultural practice in Namibia” – or any country?

‘It’s a wrap!’ at Ugandan music festival

Africa Check ran a screengrab of the video’s first frame through a reverse image search. This led us to a YouTube report on Uganda’s 2019 Ngeye Ngeye music festival.

The video is titled: “NYEGE NYEGE 2019 | UNTOLD SECRETS REVEALED/ FUN MOMENTS | IT’S A WRAP!”

The viral clip begins at the video’s five-minute, 19-second mark.

Uganda is an East African country about a 62-hour drive southwest to Namibia. Uganda’s Nyege Nyege music festival has been held every year since 2015 in Jinja, a southern town near Lake Victoria.

This isn’t the first time the video has been misused. An almost identical claim appeared online in 2019.

It’s also been claimed to show a “tradition”, “marriage rite”, “dowry rite” and “dowry ritual” in Cameroon.

Cameroon is in Central Africa, on Nigeria’s eastern border. You’d have to drive for 58 hours to get from Cameroon to Namibia, and for about 55 hours to get from Cameroon to Uganda.

Africa is the world’s second-largest continent. But misperceptions continue to lump its 55 countries into harmful stereotypes, ignoring its many and complex countries, cultures and people.

The video does not show a “cultural practice”, “tradition”, “rite” or “ritual” in any country, anywhere in the world. It’s just people messing about at a music festival.

* Some Facebook and Instagram users may have deleted their posts after Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program rated their claims as untrue.

Edited version published by Africa Check on 26 June 2024