“It’s Getting Worse”: Graduation Gown Sold at CBD Spaza Shop Sparks Discourse About Immigration

A Twitter post showing a CBD spaza shop selling full graduation gowns, complete with hoods and caps, has left South Africans furious and asking serious questions about academic integrity. The post, shared by @AdvoBarryRoux on 14 May 2026, carried a simple caption that said it all: “How did we get here?”

It is graduation season in Mzansi, and demand for academic attire is high across the country. Accredited companies like House of Graduates normally supply gowns through universities. South Africans were not prepared to see them sold off a spaza mannequin.

What Mzansi said

The comments section filled up fast, and the mood was not light. Many South Africans raised concerns that easy access to gowns makes it simple for people to fake graduations. Others were angry about who was behind the counter.

Since the shop appears to be foreign-owned, South Africans directed their frustration at undocumented immigrants in the country. The conversation quickly moved beyond gowns and into immigration. Tensions around foreign-owned spaza shops have been building for months in South Africa.

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Marches led by figures like Ngizwe Mchunu have targeted foreign-owned businesses in CBDs across the country. The Durban CBD saw clashes between protesters and foreign shop owners as recently as April 2026. The graduation gown post landed right in the middle of that fire.

See the X post below:

Mzansi weighs on

@Thabiso03974048 commented:

“It is getting worse.”

@GJIVANI said:

“That's why we see a lot of people flashing academic gowns without studying.”

Source: Briefly News