A spokesperson for the Joza police issued a ‘warning’ on the radio about a lion on the loose in Makhanda, and the community properly took heed!
Eastern Cape, South Africa (19 February 2026) – The jig is up in Makhanda.
It started on 12 February when Rhodes Music Radio shared a video of a spokesman for the Joza Police Department (later named in a report by TimesLive as Capt Khaya Tonjeni) warning that a ‘lion’ had been spotted roaming Makhanda.
“One of the community members was looking for his cattle in the area…has spotted what he saw and identified as a lion because of the size, the colour, and also the hair – the size of the hair. He said he imagined it has a mane, so we have every reason to conclude that it is a lion.”
Ja. Here’s the full video.
“We have done the basic to verify, and we are confident about the veracity of this warning. The man who issued this warning has no reason to play. We have already activated all roleplayers and stakeholders in the Sarah Baartman District Zone 2 Disaster Management Commity.”
He goes on to speak about the police working with local farmers to find the ‘lion’, using drone tech that detects thermal heat to spot ‘movement, any body, or a warm body that is alive.’
Of course, Rhodes and by extension the community of Makhanda (formally Grahamstown) took the warning with all seriousness.
Students and members of the community began spotting the ‘lion’ all about town. ‘Sightings’ were shared online.
He was seen on Albany Road and then on Rademeyer.
Then, at the gym – and obviously, kept people from leg day.
He then chased a guy manning a donkey cart.
Flipped the script and went on a safari.
And even visited some of the shops in town. Got a facial.
For days people lived in…fear?
Earlier this week, the penny dropped. Rhodes University issued a statement.
“Rhodes University is aware of the ‘lion’ currently reported to be roaming campus and wishes to reassure students that he is completely harmless (and hypo-allergenic).
RhoLeo 3.0 is an ongoing project developed by a group of Master’s students. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he temporarily exited the lab environment and subsequently lost connection to the mainframe prior to retrieval.
While he has thus far presented as a “real” lion, he is currently due for rendering and may begin to display visible glitching, pixel drift, or minor reality distortion (see image for reference).”
So, the lion’s not real (at least not on campus) and students may resume operations as normal.
If you believed any of it – we won’t lie, that ‘statement’ almost had us for a second – then perhaps it’s a lesson in discernment, especially at a time when students have all the jokes, and AI makes it so easy to be deceived.
In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight…
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