Johannesburg Police Say Viral Video of Traffic Light Arrest Is Two Years Old

Posts circulating on Facebook and X in May 2026 asserted that Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department officers had arrested five foreign nationals in possession of stolen traffic lights, known locally as robots. The posts said the individuals would face charges for infrastructure damage and unlawful presence in South Africa.

The posts included a short video clip or images showing a uniformed officer placing a traffic light onto a pile of similar devices. The material accumulated engagement before the police department responded.

17 May the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department posted a statement on its official Facebook account. The statement said the claim that officers had recently arrested five illegal foreign nationals with stolen traffic lights was untrue. The department added that the video was recorded two years earlier during an operation in which the then Deputy Director of Region F cleared damaged traffic lights from Johannesburg's central business district.

The footage shows the officer discarding the broken devices at a depot for disposal, the statement said. The department stated the clip does not depict an arrest, does not show stolen traffic lights, and does not involve foreign nationals.

Check noted that attaching old footage to unverified claims is a common disinformation tactic. The organization listed steps for verifying similar content, including checking official police accounts and identifying the original date and location of images or videos.