'The crowd shouted that we'd stolen someone's genitals' – deadly rumours spread on social media

ByMungai Ngige, BBC Global Disinformation Unit and Alfred Lasteck, BBC Africa, Reporting fromTunduma.

Key points

• The recent wave of rumours appears to have began last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where similar claims had surfaced in 2008.
• They progressively spread throughout the region to Burundi, Zambia and Tanzania as well as Mozambique, Angola, Malawi and Kenya.
• His book, The Sex Thieves: The Anthropology of a Rumor, examines how hearsay regarding "sex thieves" spread and why residents believe them.
• The BBC Disinformation Unit verified similar videos of attacks in Mozambique and Kenya.
• Asha Steven Mwakilasa, a 50-year-old tailor and fashion designer in Tunduma.

More than 80 individuals were killed between October 2025 and July this year after false accusations regarding what is termed "genital theft", the BBC Global Disinformation Unit has identified after gathering data from police forces throughout six African countries.

Meanwhile, the killings are linked to rumours that a simple tap on the shoulder can cause a man's genitals to shrink or disappear. They are being fuelled by widespread misinformation on social media.

"They were shouting that we had stolen someone's genitals and we didn't have any way to escape because there was a huge crowd, " Tanzanian mechanic Boniface Mgala informed the BBC concerning his ordeal in April when he was badly beaten by those convinced he was a genital thief.

His experience was similar to those in videos seen by the BBC: men claim that their genital organs – penis and testicles – have vanished or shrivelled after coming into contact with strangers and a mob then demands that alleged perpetrators return what they have supposedly stolen.

Such claims are rooted in longstanding fears and superstitions – and are not new on the continent, particularly in communities where belief in witchcraft remains widespread. Social media has amplified these fears.

For context, the recent wave of rumours appears to have began last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where similar claims had surfaced in 2008.

In Zambia, the hearsay regarding disappearing genitals first gained traction in March when a woman was lynched, going on to spread panic throughout the border in Tanzania.

At his home in Mpemba near Tunduma, a busy trading town in Tanzania by the border with Zambia, Mgala traces his fingers along the sickle-shaped scar that runs down the right side of his head as he reflects on his traumatic experience.

"If I had known how close I would have come to death on that day, I wouldn't have gone into that restaurant to eat. Only we don't know how close death is, " the mechanic notes.

He and his friend had gone into Tunduma on 1 April to meet a client regarding a car sale and decided to eat lunch beforehand. They had not long sat down in the restaurant when they were dragged outside by a mob.

Two smaller scars on his chin and a missing tooth are other visible marks of his ordeal.

Against the backdrop of the beating, he lost consciousness. Mgala regained awareness in hospital two days afterwards to news that his friend had been killed.

Back at his house where he lives with his wife and their four children, he now walks with a limp and notes he additionally suffers from constant headaches.

He has not been able to return to work at his mechanic shop but notes neighbours and friends have assisted cover the cost of some of the medicine he needs.

On the same day that Mgala and his friend were attacked, commercial photographer and businessman Michael Silavwe notes he witnessed another similar assault in Tunduma, where he states anxiety had been building after videos regarding stolen genitalia had begun circulating on TikTok.

Outside his shop he saw individuals running and states he learned that a man had been accused nearby and was being beaten – and afterwards set on fire.

"After they set him on fire, the police arrived at the scene and everyone scattered and ran away, " the 23-year-old informed the BBC.

In a video of the attack verified by the BBC Global Disinformation Unit and viewed more than 100, 000 times throughout TikTok and Facebook, a group is seen beating a man while demanding he return the victim's allegedly stolen genitals.

Those incidents kept escalating and people kept getting beaten, Silavwe remarked, adding that at the time young residents like him did feel scared, but he understands now there is no truth to the rumours. I came to realise it was not true.

Asha Steven Mwakilasa, a 50-year-old tailor and fashion designer in Tunduma. It is in Momba district, agrees: "I came to realise it was not true."

This does not stop her anxiety – especially if her husband or sons are out, but she notes she is grateful that the police are now mounting patrols.

Momba district commissioner Elias Daniel Mwandobo informed the BBC local investigations suggested there was deliberate criminal intent behind some of the incidents: "Individuals conspired to commit a crime and incite public panic for their own benefits."

As the man pleads his innocence, another video recorded in Tanzania's main city of Dar es Salaam demonstrates a crowd marching a man down a dusty market street, pushing, grabbing and striking him and insisting he returns the genitalia.

Meanwhile, the BBC Disinformation Unit verified similar videos of attacks in Mozambique and Kenya.

Dozens of these recordings of mob violence, alleged first-person accounts, warnings regarding alleged incidents, commentary and videos framed as reports of events in particular areas are circulating throughout TikTok and Facebook.

Plenty of of those analysed by the BBC, including some showing mob violence, remain online.

"We are reviewing the content shared with us and will take action on those that are found to violate our policies, " a Meta spokesperson informed the BBC. TikTok has yet to respond to a BBC request for comment.

With some social media creators. This person warn viewers to be vigilant, it is often unclear whether they believe the claims or are primarily seeking engagement.

While comedians have parodied the claims through comedy skits, alongside these posts, some users promote so-called charms remarked to protect against genital theft.

Smartphones and social media create rumours spread faster, reach larger audiences and become more challenging to control once they commence circulating, states author Julien Bonhomme.

Individuals are not simply hearing claims that someone has lost his genitals – they are seeing distressed men say it has happened to them, or watching crowds respond to accusations, he states.

Since of their immediacy, describing this as "one of the most significant differences" between the current digital environment and earlier outbreaks, videos shared on social media can create unverified claims appear more believable, he states.

For context, the worst-hit country has been Mozambique, where the police remarked in May that 55 residents had been killed in six weeks, including a police officer, health workers and civil servants.

Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo publicly condemned widespread rumours and deaths, saying the claims were false and the administration had identified no medical evidence to suggest anyone had lost a part of their body.

For context, the two healthcare workers were attacked at their home and workplace in April in Cabo Delgado province – a region that borders Tanzania which has been affected by an Islamist insurgency for almost a decade.

Meanwhile, the health facilities in the areas of the attacks had to close for weeks while the authorities introduced public awareness campaigns to counter the claims.

As part of the health campaign, authorities stated some of the fears could be linked to Koro syndrome, a mental illness otherwise known as missing or genital retraction hysteria.

For now, ' The crowd shouted that we' d stolen someone' s genitals' – deadly rumours spread remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.