Ndoisile expressed frustration that people in Tembisa were “overcrowded” at the Mall of Africa.
Content creator Ndoisile Sibindi faced backlash after a video ranting about crowds at the Mall of Africa went viral on social media.
The Zimbabwean TikTok star later apologized for his comments, saying he did not intend to hurt anyone.
In the video, Ndoisile expressed frustration that people in Tembisa were “overcrowded” at the Mall of Africa.
“Are you saying that if there is a shopping mall in Tembisa, you will leave the shopping mall in Tembisa and come to Mall of Africa and it will be overcrowded?”
“People are just bravadoing and taking over malls for no reason. It's very uncomfortable for those of us who are claustrophobic.”
Ndoisile's comments caused a stir on social media, with some netizens even suggesting that he should be deported if he is in South Africa illegally.
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Ndoisile: “It was a joke''
Ndoisile released another apology video, adding that the first video was meant to be humorous.
“This video is primarily to apologize to the people of Tembisa who have been offended by the video currently circulating. First of all, I am sorry if I have offended. That was not my intention and it is just It was a joke.
“That video was pre-recorded from my YouTube channel, a video blog I posted two weeks ago,” he said in a now-deleted apology video.
The content creator said he recorded the video to let his followers know why he couldn't vlog at the mall as planned, and attributed it to crowds.
He also acknowledged the importance of respecting privacy laws, particularly the POPI Act, which prohibits recording individuals without their consent.
“These words were not meant to be classist or to suggest that people shouldn't go to the mall. It's a mall, and people will go there.
“If you follow my content, you know that there's a lot of dry humor and sarcasm that my audience enjoys. If people don't like my content, I'll give them a million… I wouldn’t have been able to get close to people’s followers.”
Correctly set up records in passports and documents
Mr Ndoisile also addressed questions regarding his nationality and the legitimacy of his documents.
“I've never been ashamed of where I'm from. I was born and raised in the Havana area of Zimbabwe. I'm proud of my roots and I'm not hiding anything.”
Showing his passport, he added: “I don't understand the claims that people are trying to push on social media. This is my passport for my last trip, to Swaziland.” When we talk about documents, we're talking about tons of papers. Not. ”
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