We checked 7 claims from president Cyril Ramaphosa and two NCOP members.

✅ 2 correct | ⚠️ 2 mostly correct | ❓ 2 unproven | 🚫 1 misleading

“Cape Town lagged behind other metros in access to services.” – Ramaphosa

Verdict: 🚫 Misleading

Ramaphosa cited census data, but it depends on how you measure progress: % point changes or total households served.

Actual improvements:

💧 Water: +349,819 households (97.6% coverage)
🚽 Sanitation: +361,810 households (93.5%)
🗑️ Refuse removal: +287,000 households (91%)
⚡ Electricity: +360,000 households (96.3%)

Takeaway: Cape Town served more households than average, but % point increases can seem lower compared to smaller metros.

“75% of the R40B infrastructure budget goes to lower-income households.” – Badenhorst

Verdict: ❓ Unproven

Cape Town’s 3-year budget totals ~R40.2B. City estimates ~R29.8B (~75%) will benefit lower-income households - but projects also serve mixed-income areas.

While the claim is technically true under a broad definition, funds are not exclusively for the poorest.

“Investment per person is lower in townships and informal settlements.” – Ramaphosa

Verdict: ❓ Unproven

The city’s 2025/26 budget proposes R9.46B for infrastructure, but calculating spending per person is complex.

Experts couldn’t verify this claim, and no official analysis is available.

“35 dormant rail lines have been recovered.” – Ramaphosa

Verdict: ✅ Correct

PRASA confirms 35 of 40 lines are back in service. Challenges remain: aging infrastructure and theft.

“Passenger rail trips collapsed from 500M in 2010 to 77M in 2024/25.” – Scheurkogel

Verdict: ⚠️ Mostly correct

Data shows a decline from over 500M to 73.5M trips. This is caused by fewer stations, longer travel times, limited alternatives.

As a result, more expensive taxis or moving closer to work. The government aims to reach 600M trips by 2030.

• An image of a woman struggling with South African police has been widely shared on social media, along with claims that she was a Mozambican immigrant arrested in Johannesburg. This is false.

• The image actually shows police removing refugees outside UNHCR offices in Cape Town in 2019, not Johannesburg in 2025. It has been misused to push xenophobic stereotypes about immigrants.

• The claim was amplified by accounts like Rudo Sharon and Mehmet Vefa Dag, who profit from spreading misinformation, and even referenced by AI chatbots like Grok. Chatbots cannot fact-check reliably - they often repeat false claims or give misleading answers.

• In partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Africa Check will be hosting talented journalists and fact-checkers from 5 African countries for two weeks of immersive training.

• Fellows will be equipped with the skills needed to verify information, use AI responsibly, and analyse data.

• Africa Check’s fellowship programme and related partnerships has helped grow the continent’s fact-checking community to 55 organisations across 30 countries.

• Many of the fellows have gone on to launch their own impactful fact-checking initiatives, strengthening truth and accountability in Africa.

Across the continent, Africa Check is helping journalists and fact-checkers build the skills they need to fight misinformation — from verifying claims to analysing data and using AI responsibly.

Your support helps us train and mentor more truth-seekers, strengthening the growing network of fact-checking organisations working to keep the public informed and leaders accountable.

✨ Together, we can build a more accurate, transparent information ecosystem.

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, despite being widely shared.

FALSE: Viral posts claim to show HIV magnified under a microscope, suggesting the virus’s anatomy makes it drug-resistant. But the image actually shows a caterpillar, and HIV resists treatment through genetic mutations, not because of its anatomy.

FALSE: Claims that bitter leaf contains quinine and can cure malaria are false. Experts warn that this is dangerous information and that patients with malaria must seek effective treatment with quality medication.

FAKE: Claims that Shamila Batohi, the retiring head of South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority, has issued a “brutal assessment of her time in office” are false. They were originally published by a website which mixes sometimes plagiarised but genuine news stories with opinion and outright disinformation. 

SCAM: Ignore scam “recruitment programmes” using the likeness of South African retail giant Mr Price. The company advises users to always verify the authenticity of communications.

Kenya 🇰🇪

FALSE: A viral TikTok video claims that president William Ruto has fired health cabinet secretary Aden Duale and replaced him with Winnie Odinga, the daughter of the late opposition politician Raila Odinga. While there is speculation about an impending cabinet shake-up, the health minister is still in office. 

FAKE: A screenshot of what appears to be the popular Corridors of Power column from the Star newspaper claims that a former Kenyan deputy president is “running scared” after two Rift Valley leaders united. It is fake, and the Star has denied publishing it.

FAKE: According to a graphic circulating on Facebook, Kenyan MP Peter Salasya said members of the county assembly in Kakamega and Bungoma couldn’t speak English. But the graphic is fake, and Salasya has called it an attempt to tarnish his name.

SCAM: According to several posts, beneficiaries of the Kenyan government’s Nyota programme have received KSh50,000 from a “Nyota Foundation”. The National Youth Council of Kenya has dismissed the messages as fake.

Nigeria 🇳🇬

FALSE: A number of posts claim that an unidentified fighter jet has been seen hovering above the headquarters of the Department of State Services, and link the incident to the ongoing trial of Biafra separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu. But there is no evidence for this.

FALSE: A photo of an older Nigerian lawmaker has been circulating online, with users claiming that he is the chairperson of the youth development committee in the house of representatives. But this is not true. 

FALSE: Nearly two months after a Finnish court sentenced Biafra separatist Simon Ekpa to six years in prison on terrorism charges, multiple Facebook posts claim that the court has freed him and awarded him US$50,000 compensation. The claim is false.

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Your weekly dose of facts in newsletter form is created by Laura Kapelari (@laurakapelari). It is edited by Lee Mwiti (@LMAfrican) and Cayley Clifford (@cayleyclifford).