FACT-CHECK: 2021 video of huge crowd occupying Tanzanian airport recirculated to depict ongoing protest

Claim

An X user shared a video of a huge crowd trooping into an airport alongside the claim that it was a recent protest by the Tanzanians.

Verdict

This claim is MISLEADING. A simple investigation by FACTWATCH Nigeria showed that the video was from 2021, during the funeral events for the late Tanzanian President John Magufuli, large crowds gathered at the airports as his body was transported between cities.

Full Text

Protests escalated in major cities across Tanzania as opposition supporters denounced presidential and parliamentary elections held on 29 October as a sham, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Hundreds of demonstrators also crossed into Kenyan territory, barricading roads, lighting bonfires, and tearing down posters of President Samia Hassan along the way.

Kenyan police said two people died after fleeing running battles with Tanzanian police.

Protesters accuse the government of undermining democracy, as the main opposition leader is in jail and another opposition figure was disqualified from the election, bolstering Samia’s chances of winning.

According to the BBC, anger grew on Thursday after the electoral commission started announcing results, with Samia getting nearly 95% of the vote in south-western Mbea province.

She has also taken the lead in many other constituencies on the mainland and in Zanzibar.

An X user, MwangiHub, shared a video showing a huge crowd trooping into an airport and claimed that the clip was from the ongoing protests by Tanzanians.

The X user shared the video and wrote, “Demonstrators in Tanzania have officially occupied the airport”

The post on X has garnered over a million views, thousands of likes, and comments.

FACTWATCH Nigeria cited this same claim made by a Facebook page, known as Politics Nigeria.

Verification

First, we subjected screenshots from the video to a Google Image Reverse Search and the results showed that the video first appeared online in 2021.

Further searches led us to a Facebook page named A Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew Lounge, which shared the same video on 25 March 2021.

The Facebook page posted the video with a caption that reads, “Dar Es Salaam Airport in Tanzania stormed by thousands of locals. ”

“On Sunday the out-of-control crowd tore down the airport’s perimeter security fences and rushed onto the tarmac in an effort to bid farewell to their president.”

“At the time of the major security breach, the plane carrying the body of the former president of Tanzania, John Magufuli, was due to depart from Dar es Salaam to the nation’s capital Dodoma. Magufuli’s coffin was being taken by Air Tanzania on a special tour around the country to allow Tanzanians to pay their final respects to their leader.”

“It’s reported the stampede resulted in injuries and possible casualties.”

This Fact Checker also came across this video posted on the X platform with similar information.

To confirm this further, Reuters reported a stampede at a Tanzanian stadium crushed 45 people to death as mourners paid last respects to the late President John Magufuli during that period.

President John Magufuli was a Tanzanian politician who served as the country’s fifth president, serving from 2015 until he died in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport, and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015 and was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020.