Feud in South Africa After Alleged Trafficking of Recruits to Russia

Former South African President Jacob Zuma and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images

PRETORIA — A feud between the daughters of former South African president Jacob Zuma has escalated after allegations that 17 South African men were lured to Russia under false pretenses and coerced into taking combat roles in the war against Ukraine.

According to reporting from Financial Times, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube has filed a criminal complaint accusing her sister, MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, of sending the men abroad for what was described as “bodyguard training,” only for them to be handed over to a Russian mercenary group. Zuma-Sambudla has denied wrongdoing and has submitted her own complaint, claiming she was “manipulated” by a WhatsApp intermediary who allegedly posed as a South African in Russia connected to a legitimate training program.

The case has put renewed focus on efforts to recruit Africans into the conflict, as well as the longstanding ties between Moscow and veterans of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress. Jacob Zuma, trained in Russia during the apartheid era, later founded the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, in which Zuma-Sambudla now serves as an MP. She is already facing charges — which she denies — related to the 2021 riots triggered by her father’s imprisonment.

In her statement, Zuma-Mncube accused her sister and two collaborators of violating laws on human trafficking, aiding foreign military organizations, and fraud. The men were allegedly pressured to sign Russian-language contracts they could not read. South Africa’s Democratic Alliance has referred Zuma-Sambudla to parliament’s ethics committee, calling the allegations a “serious breach” if proven.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently confirmed that 17 South Africans stranded in the Donbas region had sought government help to return home, saying they were enticed with promises of lucrative work. Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Olexander Scherba, said he has been contacted by families of the men and suggested they were misled by offers of well-paid “adventure” rather than motivated by ideological support for Russia.

Previously, UOJ reported that Pat. Kirill had received a Presidential Award from Putin for "contributing to the unity of the Russian nation."

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