It’s fake news‚ say police of viral video of foreigner being accused of child abduction

The police say there is no truth to claims that a foreign national filmed being interrogated is involved in child abduction.

The video is being widely circulated on social media.

It shows a man - believed to be an Ethiopian - being questioned by two men about children he is accused of abducting. The confrontation was alleged to have happened at Leopard Rock in Ridgeway‚ south of Johannesburg.

The men are seen manhandling the suspect and asking him where the children are.

“There is no truth to the video. We were monitoring the claims and nothing has of that nature happened‚” said police spokesperson Captain Thinandavha Lifhugu.

He said police had been informed of a case of abduction in Braamfischerville at the weekend‚ which had also turned out to be false.

“When the police arrived at the scene‚ there were two funerals in the area and the report turned out to be false‚” Lifhugu said.

When TimesLIVE visited the townhouse complex in Ridgeway‚ where the latest video was filmed‚ the unit was empty.

One of the trustees at the complex‚ Barbara Archari‚ said they did not know about children being kept at one of the units.

She said there had been an incident on Sunday that had happened outside the complex‚ where Ethiopian men had been involved in a physical fight with coloured men.

“There was no child that was kidnapped from the complex. We did alert the Booysens SAPS to come in and the matter is currently under investigation‚” Archari said.

She said the Ethiopian men who were involved in the fight lived in the complex‚ but had vacated the unit shortly after the incident.

“I would assume that they left for their safety‚” Archari said.

An Ethiopian woman who did not want to be named and lives in the complex said she knew the occupants of the unit.

“They are my brothers from Ethiopia. There were four of them who lived in the house‚” she said.

When showed the video of the foreign national being interrogated‚ the woman said the man in the footage was not one of those who lived at the unit.

“I don’t know this man. He did not live here‚” the woman said.