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A friend in the Eastern Cape of South Africa asked about this fly (some 2-4 mm). I live in the W Cape and also see them very occasionally, and I could swear that I Id'd them myself some months ago, but can trace neither documentation nor memory. I have an idea that it is an invasive fruit pest, but that impression is NOT to be trusted because I can find neither support nor denial for it.
Any ideas please?

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Second aspect with bald patch.

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And finally with scutellar queue

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Rhodesiella tarsalis? It looks like Rhodesiella. The type species tarsalis is from southern Africa and I assume it has distinctive tarsi like your fly. Possibly many other species also have distinctive tarsi. I don't have any literature to distinguish them.

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John, BINGO!
My impressions from memory were certainly illusory, if not actually delusional. In fact I could hardly believe that it was in the Chloropidae. To the best of my memory, I never even had heard of the genus Rhodesiella. But of course I did a bit of surfing and found those striking scutella, plus mating assemblies that were more abruptly persuasive of Chloropidae than any morphology could be!
That was at
http://baba-insects.blogspot.com/2013/11/blog-post_9.html
though you have to page down a bit to see the serried ranks effect.
Many thanks from me and my friend. At least I now know it wasn't my failing memory.
(Now all I need do is work out what it was that I REALLY forgot! )

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Chloropidae, Rhodesiellinae: Rhodesiella spec. The hind edge of the eye is slightly concave, a typical feature of Rhodesiella, in addition the scutellum agrees, too.