Fact-check: Is this a video of a Nigerien soldier preparing for the ECOWAS joint forces?

No, the video is of a South Sudanese soldier, Col. Angui Karbino Kuanyin, and has been on the internet since 2019.

Writer: Jibi Moses

A video going viral on X (formerly Twitter) supposedly showing a Nigerien soldier shooting bullets into his mouth and spitting them out is misleading. 

In the video, a soldier has two guns, shoots bullets into his mouth and spits them on the ground.

The post accompanying the video is about the ECOWAS intervention in Niger. It reads: “Here’s a Niger soldier displaying his military prowess using black magic as Ecowas prepares to invade the sovereign nation. We’re sitting on a time bomb in West Africa; no one is safe.”

It was shared on August 19, 2023, and attracted 486 Reposts, 71 quotes, 713 likes, 109 bookmarks, and 113.9K views. The video also attracted a lot of comments, with some claiming it was from Uganda. 

The video was also shared on X by another user on the same day with the same claim.

Screenshot of the tweet as shared on X

Investigation:

From a keyword search using the words:  ‘A man shoots himself and spits out the bullets,’  211 Check found that the video has been on the internet for a long time, seemingly first appearing on July 24, 2019. Reports about the incident appeared on different news outlets in different countries. 

France24’s Observers published the story on July 26, 2019 with the headline “South Sudan colonel shoots himself on video: how he faked it.”

The article identifies the man in the video as Col. Angui Karbino Kuanyin. 

“The colonel in the video is Angui Karbino Kuanyin. Kuanyin comes from a well-known military family; he is the son of General Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, one of the leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, who died back in 1999,” reads parts of the report. 

Screenshot of the article by Observers France24

Likewise, on July 24, 2019, Special Broadcasting Service also published an article with an audio interview in Dinka in which Kuanyin explained how and why he shot himself.

Kuanyin explained the idea behind the video in an interview with Australian media outlet SBS:

“Many people around me didn’t believe I could do that. So I told them to come, and they filmed me doing it. I didn’t want the video to end up online, but other people posted it.

Why did I do it? Every day, people threaten President Kiir. I wanted to show people we can protect the president whenever and wherever. I don’t think it is a crime, but I will go before a court if the president thinks it is.

Lots of people criticised me and said that I was using fake bullets. But they are real bullets! I’m extending the invitation to anyone who wants to come with his or her own weapon and try to prove that I am lying. I have lots of similar videos that I can show you.”

Additionally, on April 2, 2021, Tori Ng News published the story with the headline ‘Meet the African Soldier Who Stops Bullet With His Mouth (Video).

Other sources also clarified the soldier’s origin as being from South Sudan, as seen here, here, here, and here.

Conclusion:

211 Check finds that the video circulating on social media claiming to be of a Nigerien soldier is false. The video is of a South Sudanese soldier, Col. Angui Karbino Kuanyin, and has been on the internet since 2019.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.

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