The family of the former South African president, Jacob Zumamay be in crisis after her eldest daughter accused her half-sister of tricking 17 men into fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
The controversy highlights the increase in the number of Africans recruited into Russia’s military forces due to a shortage of Russian soldiers, as well as the close ties between Moscow and veterans of the African National Congress political party.
The former South African president was once part of the party, which was born as a liberation movement for democracy in South Africa. He is currently part of the uMkhonto weSizwe party
Jacob Zuma stepped down as president in 2018 following a series of corruption scandals and was expelled from the African National Congress in 2024. He received military training in the Soviet Union during apartheid, an institutionalized system of racial segregation in South Africa that kept blacks and whites separate.
Who is Zuma-Sambudla and what is she accused of?
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is one of more than 20 children of the former South African leader. She has been a strong supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has expressed admiration for him on social media.
Last week, Zuma-Sambudla resigned from her position in parliament, where she represented the party led by her father, after her older half-sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube, filed a criminal complaint against her.
The complaint came after the South African government began investigating how 17 citizens became trapped in the war-torn Donbass region of Ukraine. The government was alerted to the situation after the men asked for help to return home.
Authorities revealed in October that the men were “lured to join mercenary forces involved in the Ukraine-Russia war under the pretext of lucrative work contracts.”
Zuma-Mncube alleged that the actions of his younger half-sister and two other individuals contributed to the men’s plight. Zuma-Sambudla has not publicly responded to the allegations.
Under South African law, it is illegal to serve in foreign armed forces without government approval.
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, also brought criminal charges against Zuma-Sambudla following discussions with the families of the arrested men.
Zuma-Sambudla already faces separate charges of incitement to terrorism and public violence.
According to prosecutors, she allegedly incited violence on social media during riots that resulted in more than 300 deaths, following her father’s arrest on contempt of court charges in 2021. The former president was released in 2023. The youngest daughter has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
MP Chris Hattingh, spokesman for the Democratic Alliance for military and defense veterans, shared his findings with national broadcaster SABC.
“I have been in contact with families and they all tell exactly the same story,” he said, explaining that the men “were totally deceived” and “lured to Russia for personal development” under the guise of “security training.”
When they arrived in Russia, Hattingh continued, “their clothes and passports were allegedly burned, their phones were taken, and ultimately there was no further contact with them.”
In his defense, Zuma-Sambudla said he did not intend to recruit South Africans to serve as mercenaries in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In a statement given to police and quoted by local newspaper the Daily News, she claimed that she had been scammed by someone called “Khoza”, who contacted her on WhatsApp, claiming to be a South African national living in Russia and having links to a “legitimate paramilitary training programme” that did not involve combat.
Zuma-Sambudla revealed that she enlisted and participated in paramilitary training in Russia for a month and was not exposed to any combat situations, according to the newspaper.
She then recommended that 22 other people, including her relatives, sign up for the program. Of the 22 people who initially traveled, 17 South Africans are now in northern Donetsk as part of Russian forces.
“Based on my own experience, I believed the program was legal and safe. But I was also manipulated and used to create a false impression of legitimacy,” she was quoted as saying.
Zuma-Sambudla has reportedly assured that he will fully cooperate with the authorities.
The South African police announced that they are investigating whether “any crime, including possible human trafficking, illegal recruitment, exploitation or fraud, may have contributed to the displacement of these individuals to the conflict zone”.
A CNN requested comments from the Russian Military and Foreign Ministry.
In November, however, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated at a press conference that Russia had no information about the men and had not yet received any communication from the South African government on the matter.
“If there is a request of this kind from Pretoria, we will be ready to consider it in accordance with the existing procedure, in the spirit of the existing strategic partnership relations between Russia and South Africa,” she said.
Russian authorities have previously denied pressuring foreigners to enlist in the military.
A recruitment scam or a shady Kremlin maneuver?
According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, more than 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries are fighting for Russia in Ukraine. “Most of them are immediately sent into attacks where they are quickly killed,” Sybiha said last month.
Current information about , but Western intelligence agencies estimate that the Kremlin has suffered more than 1 million casualties, including more than 250,000 deaths, since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The UK Ministry of Defense estimates that approximately 1,000 Russian soldiers are killed or injured every day.
Recent events in South Africa reflect controversies in Kenya, where authorities are trying to secure the release of more than 200 of its citizens involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that recruitment networks remain active in the East African country. Last week, The Star, a local newspaper, reported that a Kenyan man was killed while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, just a month after arriving to work as a driver.
Analysts suggest that the recruitment of African mercenaries to bolster Russia’s military operations in Ukraine involves not only the Kremlin, but also recruiters on social media who often mislead potential candidates about the nature of the work.
Those who reveal the true nature of the work advertise attractive offers, including expedited visas, salaries of up to $2,500 per month, and free healthcare.
Paul Mudau, Senior Lecturer in Public, Constitutional and International Law at the University of South Africa, explained: “Scammers deal with the initial bait, often through advertisements on Telegram or Facebook for ‘jobs’ in Russia.”
However, he told CNN: “As soon as the recruits arrive, they are detained by Russian authorities, forced to leave and sent with minimal training.”
