MK Party Members 'Duped' into Fighting in Ukraine

South African Men 'Duped' into Fighting in Ukraine: Zuma Appeals to Russia for Help

Johannesburg – Seventeen South African men are reportedly fighting for their lives on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine after being sent to Russia by Jacob Zuma's MK Party under the false pretence of bodyguard training. The men, now trapped in the war-torn Donbas region, are allegedly enduring terrible conditions, prompting desperate pleas for assistance.

The situation has escalated to the highest levels of government, with President Cyril Ramaphosa's office confirming it had received "distress calls" from the men. According to a statement released last week, the men were "lured to join mercenary forces… under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts".

Adding a further layer of complexity to the situation, News24 has obtained a copy of a letter, dated 19 September, bearing what appears to be Jacob Zuma's signature. The letter is addressed to Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, in which Zuma implores him to remove the South African men from the combat zone and relocate them to a safer location.

In the letter, Zuma refers to 18 men, one more than the number cited in the Presidency's statement. The letter has been circulated among the men as evidence that efforts are underway to secure their release.

The letter states: "Your Excellency, while our resolve to support the Russian Federation remains unshaken, I must humbly and urgently appeal to you directly. Sending these untrained, inexperienced volunteers into active combat is a certain tragedy. It would be a devastating loss to their families, to our party, and to the future of Russo-African relations."

Zuma's letter further claims that the men were sent to Russia "to learn from the world's finest, so that they may one day return to Africa as capable leaders and steadfast champions of our common cause". However, the letter alleges that the men were "misled" by a former soldier within the Russian army from South Africa. This individual purportedly facilitated their enrolment not for an officer training programme, as intended, but into a "standard basic infantry contract" in Pskov, a city near the border with Estonia.

Zuma wrote, "These young men, filled with idealism but possessing no prior military experience, were apparently given only three weeks of training."

"Today, I received a most alarming communication from them stating they are being deployed directly to a combat zone," the letter continues.

"We respectfully and with the greatest comradery request your immediate intervention to investigate the possibility of cancelling their current infantry contracts, which were signed under patently misleading circumstances," Zuma pleaded.

The letter also highlights concerns about potential media fallout: "The gravity of this situation is compounded by the fact that Western media actors have already made contact with our party, seeking to create a damaging internal scandal from this misunderstanding. We are currently suppressing this information, but our ability to do so is limited, and time is critically short."

On Monday, MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of the letter, but acknowledged that it appeared to bear Zuma's signature. "I doubt that… we would participate in a programme that aims to have any negative outcome. We always act in accordance with the spirit of our relationship with Russia. Whatever engagement we have with them is based on that. Anything outside of that – hence the president wrote the letter, which is signed, and you've just shown me now – we will await that response [from the Russian authorities], which will give us clarity," he stated.

Ndhlela claimed, "It’s the first time I’m seeing this letter you just showed me, and where you even got it, I don’t know." He requested a copy of the letter for further comment, which News24 provided. Subsequent attempts to contact Ndhlela were unsuccessful.

President Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, stating: "We are not commenting on any of the specifics you have raised. Our investigations are ongoing."

Meanwhile, families of the men are living in fear. A source close to one of the families, speaking anonymously, revealed that the men were initially told they would be returning to work in the "protection unit" of the MK Party. The offer was presented as a "professional thing," but was "hurried and shrouded in secrecy."

The men were instructed to pack lightly, taking only a small bag, passports, and a jacket. On 8 July, they boarded a flight to Dubai, where they were stranded for two days due to "an issue with their paperwork." Upon arrival in Russia, their families were unable to contact them for ten days as their phones were confiscated.

When contact was briefly re-established, the families were informed that there were no training academies or professional programmes available. Instead, the men were sent to a remote location for three weeks of basic military training, after which they learned they were destined for Ukraine and the war.

"They got there, everything they had on them – any shoe, whatever – was put in a fire and burned, and they were left with nothing, just underwear," the source recounted. "They were given military clothes, uniforms, put in trucks, and they were taken to the bush… They were staying underground in holes; there were drones everywhere. They realised they were literally at the front line."

In a voice note heard by News24, one of the men described their dire situation. "They are doing everything in their power, and on our side, we are doing everything in our power to protect the people that brought us here, yet they don’t care about us. They are quiet and not saying anything, but we are here protecting them," the man lamented. "This is painful, I don’t want to lie. So, personally, I’ve made a decision, and it’s now about time for people in South Africa to know what is happening here."

A former MK Party member confirmed that he was aware of the party sending members to Russia. "I heard about that programme where some guys would be sent to Russia for bodyguard training of some sort," he said, adding that the plan was not "transparent or communicated to all members of the organisation."

The Presidency has emphasised that under the Foreign Military Assistance Act, "it is illegal for South African citizens and entities to offer or provide military assistance to foreign governments or participate in armies of foreign governments unless authorised by the… government".

Ukrainian Ambassador to South Africa Olexander Scherba stated that the men were recruited by one of the warring parties with promises of highly lucrative contracts to fight on their side. "Luring people into a foreign war is against South African legislation, so it’s something that’s between the Russian government and the South African government," he said.

When asked if the Ukrainian government was assisting Pretoria in ensuring the men's return, Scherba responded: "There was no way for the Ukrainian government to assist them in bringing them back, aside from if they surrender and they become POWs [prisoners of war], then that would be the moment for the Ukrainian government to step in."