What position did Scipio Africanus the Younger hold when he first returned to Africa during the Third Punic War?

When Scipio Africanus the Younger (also known as Scipio Aemilianus) first returned to Africa during the Third Punic War, he held the position of military tribune.1

He had previously visited Africa in 150 BCE as an envoy to the Numidian king Masinissa to secure elephants, but he returned the following year as a military tribune with the Roman army when the war broke out. During this period, he distinguished himself through his tactical skill, notably retrieving a precarious situation for the Roman commander Manilius following a Carthaginian night attack. It was not until 147 BCE that he was given the supreme command of the Roman forces in the region.123