'Àwọn èèyàn parọ́ mọ́ wa pé a jí nǹkan ọmọkùnrin ẹnìkan, àyélujára sì gbà bẹ́ẹ̀'

O le ni ọgọrin eeyn to ti ku laarin osu kẹwa ọdun 2025 si osu keje ọdun yii lori pe wọn pa irọ mọ wọn pe wọn lori ohun ti a pe ni jiji nnkan ọmọkunrin.

Ẹka ileesẹ iroyin BBC to wa fun titan imọlẹ si ayederu iroyin ti wa se awari iroyin yii lẹyin to se akojọpọ iwadii lati ileesẹ ọlọpaa lawọn orilẹede mẹfa nilẹ Afirika.

Se ni wọn n pa awọn eeyan tori ayederu ẹsun pe fifi ọwọ gba eeyan ni ejika lasan le mu ki nnkan ọkunrin dinku tabi poora patapata.

Iroyin eke yii, eyi ti sayẹnsi ko le fidi rẹ mulẹ, to n tan kalẹ lori ayelujara, lo n da kun bi wọn se n pa ọpọ eeyan naa.

"Wọn n pariwo pe a ji nnkan ọkunrin kan, ti a ko si ri ọna lati jajabọ nitori pe ogunlọgọ eeyan lo wa nibẹ."

Ọkunrin mẹkaliki kan to jẹ ọmọ ilẹ Tanzania, Boniface Mgala lo sọ bẹẹ fun BBC nipa iriri rẹ ni osu kẹrin lasiko ti awọn eeyan to fi ẹsun kan an pe o ji nnkan ọkunrin ka, na a ni anadojubolẹ.

Iriri rẹ yii naa fara jọ tawọn eeyan to wa ninu fidio kan to tẹ BBC lọwọ: awọn ọkunrin kan lo n pariwo pe nnkan ọkunrin awọn - okó abi koropọn – ti poora tabi yinrin lẹyin ti wọn fi ara kan awọn ajeji, ti awọn obitibiti ero yoo si maa sọ fun ẹni ti wọn ba fi ẹsun kan naa pe ko da ohun to ji pada.

Irufẹ ẹsun bayii si lo da lori ibẹru ati igbagbọ ninu nnkan eyi to ti wa fun ọjọ pipẹ - eyi ti ko si jẹ tuntun nilẹ Afirika, paapaa lawọn agbegbe ti wọn ti ni igbagbọ ninu agbara ajẹ, eyi to ti tan kalẹ.

Bakan naa si ni itakun agbaye n se iranwọ lati se agbelarugẹ awọn irufẹ ibẹru bii eyi.

Eyii to ṣẹṣẹ n waye ni lọlọ yii lo bẹrẹ ni Democratic Republic of Congo, nibi ti irufẹ nnkan bẹẹ ti kọkọ waye ṣaaju lọdun 2008.

Iroyin naa bẹrẹ si n tan kalẹ titi to fi de Burundi, Zambia ati Tanzania to fi mọ Mozambique, Angola, Malawi ati Kenya.

Ni Zambia, iroyin nipa nnkan ọmọkunrin to poora kọkọ milẹ titi ninu oṣu Kẹta nigba ti wọn lu ọdọbinrin kan pa, titi to fi tan de aala Tanzania.

Nile rẹ ni Mpemba, Mgala fọwọ si apa egbo ori rẹ, o si ṣalaye ohun ti oju rẹ ri lasiko naa.

O ni "Ti mo ba mọ pe o ṣeeṣe ki n sọ ẹmi mi nu lọjọ naa ni, mi o ba ti lọ sinu ile ounjẹ ọhun lati lọ jẹun. Bo tilẹ jẹ pe a kii mọ akoko ti iku ba wa nitosi wa ni."

Ọjọ kinni, oṣu Kẹrin loun ati ọrẹ rẹ lọ si Tunduma lati lọ pade onibara kan nipa ọkọ to fẹ ra, amọ o pinnu lati kọkọ jẹun ṣaaju idunadura ọhun.

Ko pẹ ti wọn joko ninu ile ounjẹ naa ti ọpọ ero ya bo wọn nibẹ ti awọn ọgọrọ ero naa si wọ wọn jade.

Apa meji mii ati ẹyin kan to sọnu wa lara nnkan to fi n ṣeranti ọjọ naa.

Lasiko ti wọn n na wọn, o daku rọgbọndan. Lẹyin ọjọ meji lo to pada ji saye nile iwosan, asiko naa lo gbọ pe wọn pa ọrẹ rẹ ti wọn jọ jade.

Bayii, igi lo fi n rin, o si ni gbogbo igba ni ori maa n fọ oun.

Titi di asiko to n ba wa sọrọ, ko tii lokun ati pada sidi iṣẹ ọkọ titunṣe to yan laayo latari ilera rẹ.

Lọjọ kan naa ti wọn lu Mgala ati ọrẹ rẹ ni alubami, ayaworan kan, Michael Silavwe sọ pe oun ri irufẹ iṣẹlẹ kan naa ni Tunduma, nibi to ni awọn eeyan binu lẹyin fidio ori TikTok to sọ pe wọn ji nnkan ọmọkunrin ẹnikan lọ nibẹ.

O ni oun ri awọn eeyan ti wọn n sare niwaju ṣọọbu oun lẹyin ti wọn ni wọn mu ẹnikan to jẹ ki nnkan ọmọkunrin ẹnikan poora, lẹyin naa ni wọn dana sun ọkunrin ti wọn fẹsun kan ọhun.

"Lẹyin ti wọn dana sun un tan, gbogbo wọn tuka nigba ti ọlọpaa de ibẹ."

Ninu fidio kan ti the BBC Global Disinformation Unit wo ti awọn eeyan si ti wo ni igba to le ni 100,000 lori TikTok ati Facebok, a ri awọn eeyan ti wọn n na ọkunrin ti wọn ni o ji nnkan ọmọkunrin ẹlomii.

Asha Steven Mwakilasa, a 50-year-old tailor and fashion designer in Tunduma, which is in Momba district, agrees: "I came to realise it was not true."

This does not stop her anxiety - especially if her husband or sons are out, but she says she is grateful that the police are now mounting patrols.

Momba district commissioner Elias Daniel Mwandobo told the BBC local investigations suggested there was deliberate criminal intent behind some of the incidents: "Individuals conspired to commit a crime and incite public panic for their own benefits."

Another video recorded in Tanzania's main city of Dar es Salaam shows a crowd marching a man down a dusty market street, pushing, grabbing and striking him and insisting he returns the genitalia, as the man pleads his innocence.

The BBC Disinformation Unit verified similar videos of attacks in Mozambique and Kenya.

Dozens of these recordings of mob violence, alleged first-person accounts, warnings about alleged incidents, commentary and videos framed as reports of events in particular areas are circulating across TikTok and Facebook.

Many of those analysed by the BBC, including some showing mob violence, remain online.

A Meta spokesperson said: "We are reviewing the content shared with us and will take action on those that are found to violate our policies."

TikTok has yet to respond to a BBC request for comment.

With some social media creators, who warn viewers to be vigilant, it is often unclear whether they believe the claims or are primarily seeking engagement.

Alongside these posts, some users promote so-called charms said to protect against genital theft, while comedians have parodied the claims through comedy skits.

Smartphones and social media make rumours spread faster, reach larger audiences and become more difficult to control once they begin circulating, says author Julien Bonhomme.

His book, The Sex Thieves: The Anthropology of a Rumor, examines how hearsay about "sex thieves" spread and why people believe them.

People are not simply hearing claims that someone has lost his genitals - they are seeing distressed men say it has happened to them, or watching crowds respond to accusations, he says.

Videos shared on social media can make unverified claims appear more believable, he says, because of their immediacy, describing this as "one of the most significant differences" between the current digital environment and earlier outbreaks.

The worst-hit country has been Mozambique, where the police said in May that 55 people had been killed in six weeks, including a police officer, health workers and civil servants.

Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo publicly condemned widespread rumours and deaths, saying the claims were false and the government had found no medical evidence to suggest anyone had lost a part of their body.

The two healthcare workers were attacked at their home and workplace in April in Cabo Delgado province - a region that borders Tanzania which has been affected by an Islamist insurgency for nearly a decade.

The health facilities in the areas of the attacks had to close for weeks while the authorities launched public awareness campaigns to counter the claims.

As part of the health campaign, the government said some of the fears could be linked to Koro syndrome, a mental illness otherwise known as missing or genital retraction hysteria.

The most recent incidents of violence have occurred in Kenya, where five people were killed by mobs in the coastal counties of Kwale and Mombasa.

After the first incidents were reported in July, Mombasa County Commissioner Mohamed Noor blamed some content creators for spreading the claims to boost engagement "simply to attract views and attention".

"Such misinformation can easily lead to loss of life," Noor told the BBC.

He said police had since contained the violence and made several arrests, including a father and son who were sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman they accused of causing men's genitals to disappear.

Similar claims also fuelled mob attacks in Malawi, leaving eight people dead.

Back in Tunduma, in neighbouring Tanzania, even as mechanic Mgala recovers from the physical impact of the assault, the emotional pain is still raw.

"It still hurts me deeply when I think back to the senseless manner my friend died because I still don't know what was going on," he says.

"To suddenly find yourself being pelted with stones for no reason, and then end up losing your life?"