Viral posts shared in July 2025 falsely declare a lady was arrested in South Africa for receiving monetary assist from eight males for one baby. That is false; the declare is a recycled hoax from 2023. The lady within the picture was arrested in a 2024 drug bust, and police say no baby assist rip-off as described within the publish came about.
“A 35 12 months previous girl was arrested for amassing baby assist cash from Eight (completely different males for one baby (sic),” reads a Fb publish printed on July 12, 2025.
The publish provides: “Ms Nancy Mudau from Nzhelele Biaba, Limpopo has been amassing cash for 12 years from these Eight (completely different males who thought they’re the daddy of her baby.”
The publish, shared greater than 4,500 instances, additional claims that by the point the girl was arrested, the cash had been used to pay college charges, construct a house and begin building on a tavern.
Screenshot of the false Fb publish, taken on July 21, 2025
The picture included within the publish exhibits a lady dealing with a South African Police Service (SAPS) van, whereas being flanked by uniformed officers.
Comparable claims had been shared tens of 1000’s of instances throughout media platforms, together with Instagram, TikTok and X.
However the claims are false.
No case
A reverse picture search of the arrest picture revealed that it was posted on the SAPS web site on April 5, 2024, in reference to a drug bust in Kimberley, a metropolis in South Africa’s Northern Cape province (archived right here).
“Three grownup male individuals, two South Africans and one Nigerian, had been arrested in Pampierstad for possession of crystal fable and one feminine was arrested in Hartswater for being in possession of suspected mandrax tablets,” reads the police assertion.
Screenshot of the picture on the SAPS web site, taken on July 21, 2025
The false posts declare that the girl was arrested in Limpopo province, roughly 1,000 kilometres from the Northern Cape, the place the picture of the girl was taken (archived right here).
Limpopo police additionally advised AFP Truth Test on July 17, 2025, that they’d no arrests matching the declare’s description. “We don’t have such a case in Limpopo,” spokesman Malesela Ledwaba mentioned in a WhatsApp message.
2023 hoax
A key phrase seek for “Lady from Nzhelele, Limpopo Nancy Mudau” on Google hyperlinks to unverified articles from 2023, together with on West African weblog websites, together with right here, right here and right here.
The hoax was reignited this 12 months by a Fb account referred to as “Koos de Klerk”, which was created in June 2025 and infrequently shares comparable pretend tales as clickbait with greater than 197,000 followers.
A lot of the posts from this account additionally hyperlink to a job-seeker’s web site or promote a WhatsApp group ostensibly with the identical mission.
Screenshot displaying the promotion of the job seekers’ WhatsApp group
AFP Truth Test has beforehand investigated how these job rip-off adverts are designed to extract money or steal private information, making the most of unemployed individuals.
To confirm marketed job alternatives, at all times test the corporate or organisation’s official web site or LinkedIn web page.
