TikTok Challenge Storming Incident — Incident Report
Crowd Disorder · Retail Environment

TikTok Challenge Storming Incident

A source-led incident summary covering the reported Mall of Africa disturbance linked to the “Luh Twizzy” trend, including disputed date wording, fatality rumours and unverified injury claims.

Date25 March 2023
LocationMidrand, Gauteng
FatalitiesDenied / none verified
InjuriesNot verified
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What happened

Search snippet states: management was aware of social-media posts about an alleged fatality related to disruptive behaviour by a group of minors on Saturday, 25 March 2023, and said, “We have had no fatality and have confirmed same …” This is directly relevant to the death rumour denial.

Incident name: TikTok Challenge “Storming” Incident. Sources also describe it as the “Luh Twizzy” mall “storming” / “disturbance by a crowd of people” at Mall of Africa.

Date: 25 March 2023. Multiple reports describe the disturbance as happening on Saturday at Mall of Africa; one later Daily Sun report says “Saturday, 26 March,” which conflicts with the other reporting.

Known and not verified

Location: Mall of Africa, Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa. Source wording includes “Mall of Africa in Midrand,” “Mall of Africa in Midrand, Gauteng,” and the mall’s own address, “Cnr Magwa & Lone Creek Crescents, Waterfall City.”

Reported injuries: Not verified. East Coast Radio, citing MSN, said it was alleged that one teenager was injured during the disturbance, but I did not find a primary or official confirmation of an injury count.

Reported fatalities: Mall management publicly denied a fatality, and later reporting said police also denied that any inquest or docket had been opened over a death linked to the trend.

Check Disputed Points →

Headline Indicators

0
Incident Year
0
Verified Fatalities
?
Confirmed Injury Count
0
Listed References

Incident Timeline

25 March 2023 · Mall disturbance
Reports describe a large group of teenagers entering Mall of Africa, running through parts of the centre and causing disruption.
26–28 March 2023 · Media reporting
TimesLIVE, Sowetan, Daily Sun and East Coast Radio reported the incident and addressed claims circulating on social media.
31 March–6 April 2023 · Wider trend response
Follow-up coverage discussed the wider “Luh Twizzy” mall-storming trend and security responses at other centres.

Operational Issues

🏬
Retail crowd disruption
The incident involved a crowd entering and moving through a public shopping centre rather than a ticketed event space.
📱
Social-media trend
Reports linked the behaviour to the “Luh Twizzy” trend, with videos and claims spreading online.
🛡️
Security response
Mall management said it was working with SAPS and private security after the disturbance.
⚠️
Rumour control
Fatality claims circulated, but mall management and later reporting said no death was confirmed.
⚠️ Evidence Caution Injury and fatality claims should not be treated as confirmed unless supported by an official or primary source. Social media did the usual social media thing: fast, loud, and not always right.

Conflicting Information

The following points were reported differently across the reviewed sources.

Disputed Detail
Incident date

25 March 2023 was the Saturday. The Daily Sun wording conflicts with the other reporting and appears to be a date error.

Source 1

Sowetan and TimesLIVE report the disturbance happened on Saturday, 25 March 2023.

Source 2

Daily Sun says, “AMA2000 were at it again on Saturday, 26 March.”

Disputed Detail
Fatality report

I found no verified primary source confirming a death.

Source 1

Mall management said there was no fatality and had confirmed this with local authorities; later reporting said police also denied that any inquest or docket had been opened over a death linked to the trend.

Source 2

Daily Sun and other follow-up pieces say social-media reports alleged that one youngster died.

Disputed Detail
Injury report

Injury count remains unverified on the sources reviewed.

Source 1

East Coast Radio says, citing MSN, that it was alleged one teenager was injured during the disturbance.

Source 2

Other directly matched reports reviewed here do not confirm an injury count.

Unverified Details

These items were not confirmed in the reviewed material.

Not Verified
A confirmed injury total.
Not Verified
A confirmed death linked to the Mall of Africa incident.
Not Verified
The exact number of participants.
Not Verified
Any arrests directly tied to the 25 March 2023 Mall of Africa disturbance.
Not Verified
A precise street-number postal address beyond the mall’s own wording, “Cnr Magwa & Lone Creek Crescents, Waterfall City.”

References

Source list extracted from the incident file, grouped into report-style reference cards.

01
Muhammad Hussain / News24 · News Articles
IN-DEPTH | Teenagers taking part in 'Luh Twizzy' storming of malls can be criminally charged – expert
5 April 2023
Analysis/opinion article about the “Luh Twizzy” mall-storming phenomenon; title and date are visible, but the article body is subscriber-restricted in the retrieved view. It is relevant context but not a primary incident report.
⚠️ Access or verification limitation noted in source summary
Visit Source →
02
Unathi Nkanjeni / TimesLIVE · News Articles
Mall of Africa chaos: What you need to know about the 'Luh Twizzy' trend
28 March 2023
Says teenagers identifying as “Luh Twizzy” caused chaos at Gauteng malls; says Mall of Africa was inundated at the weekend, describes videos of crowds and running through the restaurant area, and says the mall disputed social-media claims that a youngster died.
Visit Source →
03
Phathu Luvhengo / Sowetan · News Articles
Mall of Africa confirms 'crowd disturbance' but denies one person killed
27 March 2023
Reports that Mall of Africa in Midrand confirmed “a disturbance by a crowd of people” on Saturday, said videos showed teenagers allegedly causing chaos, and quotes a mall representative saying there were no incidents of death.
Visit Source →
04
TimesLIVE · News Articles
Mall of Africa confirms 'crowd disturbance' but denies one person killed
26 March 2023
Earlier TimesLIVE version of the same core report: says Mall of Africa in Midrand confirmed a “disturbance by a crowd of people” on Saturday and disputed claims that a youngster had died.
Visit Source →
05
Breakfast with Darren Maule / Lilitha Bodlani / East Coast Radio · News Articles
WATCH: Chaos at Mall of Africa as kids storm the mall
28 March 2023
Says chaos erupted when a group of school kids stormed Mall of Africa. It repeats the mall’s statement that no one died, and says, citing MSN, that it was alleged one teenager was injured.
Visit Source →
06
Zandile Khumalo / Daily Sun · News Articles
WATCH: Ama2000 cause havoc at Mall of Africa!
28 March 2023
Says teenagers calling themselves “Luh Twizzy” were seen storming the shopping centre and causing a commotion. It also reports social-media claims that one youngster died, then quotes the mall statement denying any fatality and saying it was working with SAPS and private security.
Visit Source →
07
Kaunda Selisho / The Citizen · News Articles
TikTok distances itself from Luh Twizzy trend
31 March 2023
Broader trend piece. Relevant incident details include that unconfirmed reports of a death emerged, Mall of Africa denied the death claim, and police were said to have denied that any inquest or docket had been opened over a death linked to the trend. It also quotes TikTok denying the trend originated on its platform.
Visit Source →
08
Vhahangwele Nemakonde / The Citizen · News Articles
‘No unaccompanied minors allowed’ – Clearwater Mall beefs up security to avoid Luh Twizzy disruptions
6 April 2023
Follow-up article showing the wider impact of the trend after the Mall of Africa incident; Clearwater Mall said it was increasing security because of a potential similar disruption. Relevant as aftermath/context rather than direct reporting of the 25 March Mall of Africa event.
Visit Source →
09
Unathi Nkanjeni / The Herald · News Articles
Mall of Africa chaos: What you need to know about the 'Luh Twizzy' trend
28 March 2023
Syndicated version of the TimesLIVE report. It repeats that Mall of Africa was inundated at the weekend and that the mall disputed claims a youngster died.
Visit Source →
10
Mall of Africa · Website Articles
Find out all about Mall of Africa
Not stated in retrieved page
Official mall page giving the venue address as “Cnr Magwa & Lone Creek Crescents, Waterfall City” and directions from Johannesburg/Pretoria. Used here for source-supported venue location details.
Visit Source →
11
Mall of Africa · Website Articles
Experience world-class shopping at Mall of Africa
Site snippet retrieved; publication date not stated in snippet
Official homepage describing the venue as “Mall of Africa, Waterfall City,” supporting the site/location description.
Visit Source →
12
Mall of Africa Facebook page · Social Media Posts (Open Source)
Mall of Africa statement on alleged fatality after disruptive behaviour by group of minors
27 March 2023 or later posting surfaced in search; exact post timestamp not visible in retrieved snippet
Search snippet states: management was aware of social-media posts about an alleged fatality related to disruptive behaviour by a group of minors on Saturday, 25 March 2023, and said, “We have had no fatality and have confirmed same …” This is directly relevant to the death rumour denial.
⚠️ Access or verification limitation noted in source summary
Visit Source →

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