“This Is My ID”: Tsonga Man Learning Zulu Before 30 June Has Mzansi Worried About What’s To Come

• A young Tsonga man posted a video of himself practising Zulu phrases, including how to say "this is my ID"
• The video plays on the real fear many South Africans have about being mistaken for illegal foreigners
• South Africans in the comments couldn't stop laughing, but underneath the humour, many admitted the situation is closer to home

A young Tsonga man has found a way to make South Africa laugh during one of the most tense periods the country has seen in years. TikToker @its.r.shishii posted a video of himself sitting in his room, practising Zulu phrases on what he called his first day of learning the language before 30 June 2026.

Every time he finished a phrase, including "this is my ID", he burst out laughing and couldn't get through the session with a straight face.

The video is funny, but the context behind it is anything but. Anti-illegal immigration group March and March has set 30 June as its deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa, threatening a national shutdown if their demands aren't met.

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The movement has been holding mass protests in cities across the country, with some incidents of intimidation and violence being reported against people who couldn't prove they were South African.

Why Tsonga and Venda people are worried

The problem is that the crackdown hasn't always been directed at illegal foreigners only. A few South Africans have reported being stopped, questioned and harassed because their languages sound foreign to those confronting them.

Legal residents and citizens have found themselves in uncomfortable situations simply because of how they speak or where they come from.

It's a tension that has been building since early 2025, when March and March first formed. Since then, over 29,000 illegal foreign nationals have been arrested by SAPS in operations across all provinces between January and May 2026.

The government has confirmed that peaceful protest is a constitutional right, but has warned against vigilantism and violence.

The joke that says something serious

@its.r.shishii's video isn't just funny. It's a mirror held up to a situation where South Africans are learning to prove they belong in their own country.

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Watch the TikTok clip below:

Mzansi reacts to Tsonga man's Zulu lesson

TikToker @its.r.shishii had people feeling conflicted:

@Sheron Sithole said:

"I'm not learning any Zulu language, vanyaa."

@Kamo❤️ wrote:

"Guys, I'm pedi, and I don't know Zulu like fr fr 😭"

@Unathi joked:

"Eish let me go and look for my ID 🤣😭"

@♡oluthando♡ admitted:

"💔🥺 as a Zulu person hhay I'm sad."

@tar_T said:

"I don't think you understand how funny this is rhu."

@Ntombiee_m 💌🤍 responded:

"Chomie, noooo 😭😭😂"

More on SA immigration tensions

• Briefly News recently reported on a confrontation involving a cash-in-transit guard that went viral and divided South Africa after what people saw happening in the clip.
• A Durban man drove through streets that used to be full of life and asked the one question about the economy that left many too uncomfortable to talk about.
• A woman from Limpopo shared her fears about being targeted while walking through Johannesburg.

Source: Briefly News