"Should Be Official Anthem": SA Woman in Zimbabwe Ready to Sing Anthem But Hears Sister Bettina
- A South African woman at a Zimbabwe event stood up expecting to hear her country's national anthem
- The band played Sister Bettina instead, and the moment was captured on TikTok by @hlatsi.vilakazi
- The clip sparked an outpouring of emotion from viewers across both countries
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A South African woman at a Zimbabwean event got a surprise. She stood up to sing her national anthem and heard something entirely different playing.
Source: TikTok
The TikTok user posted the clip on 4 July 2026, capturing the moment a live band struck up Sister Bettina, the beloved South African party anthem, in place of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Her caption said it all:
"POV: I stood up expecting to sing SA national anthem."
The video by @hlatsi.vilakazi spread quickly, drawing viewers from both South Africa and Zimbabwe who found the whole moment both hilarious and oddly heartwarming. For many South Africans, Sister Bettina carries deep cultural weight. It is the kind of song that fills dancefloors and braai yards, instantly recognisable and impossible not to move to. Hearing it announced as the South African national anthem at a Zimbabwean event landed differently for viewers, equal parts funny and touching. Watch the moment that had two nations laughing and tearing up at the same time:
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Mzansi and Zim React
The comments section became a rare space of warmth between two neighbouring countries that have not always seen eye to eye. The author herself seemed to take it in good spirit, with one commenter joking that the song "should be the official anthem."People from both sides weighed in:
@ZinhleGradwell said:
"Wow!!! This is the Zimbabwe I know! Thank you for welcoming our own! We love you!"
@Gaga wrote:
"I got goosebumps to this. Why are we fighting when we can do this? And we welcome people regardless, honestly and wholeheartedly. God, this was beautiful."
@nqobanikundai added:
"Sister Bettina is a whole anthem."
@Meloraine asked:
"Why am I crying watching this video?"
@tyronrebelz commented:
"Zimbabwe will rise, let's keep our good spirits."
@mme matwins said simply:
"I love Zimbabwe."
@LUCIDFRVR joked:
"Hawu, that is the national anthem though."
Other Briefly News stories about SA and Zim
- A South African TikTok creator documented her vibrant daily life in Harare, Zimbabwe, challenging common migration myths through her captivating videos.
- Woolworths’ sourcing of premium blueberries from farms in Zimbabwe, spotlighting a recent trip made by the procurement team to explore new varieties and future plantings.
- A Zimbabwean man who makes regular trips to South Africa every school holiday to visit the child of his late best friend.
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Source: Briefly News
