Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, has become embroiled in a complex legal battle involving allegations of fraud and human trafficking, following the recruitment of South African men to fight in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The saga began when Zuma-Sambudla filed countercharges against a fellow recruiter, accusing them of orchestrating the recruitment and subsequent deployment of 18 South African men to Russia. According to Zuma-Sambudla, these men are now stranded and being forced to fight against Ukraine.
Hawks spokesperson, Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, confirmed that Zuma-Sambudla had opened a fraud case at the Sandton police station on Monday. “We have received the docket, and both dockets will be investigated jointly so as to ensure a well-coordinated and comprehensive approach,” Mbambo said.
This development followed a complaint filed by Zuma-Sambudla’s half-sister, Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, at the same police station on Sunday. Zuma-Mncube requested a formal investigation into Zuma-Sambudla’s alleged involvement in the recruitment of the men to Russia.
Zuma-Mncube stated that her sister had potentially contravened the provisions of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act, and may have also committed fraud. “Among these men, who are requesting the South African government for assistance, are eight of my family members,” she said.
The men, allegedly recruited by Zuma’s MK Party (MKP), claim they were misled into believing they would undergo military training and subsequently return to South Africa to work as party bodyguards. However, they allege that Zuma-Sambudla, along with a man named Blessing Khoza, and a woman named Siphokazi Xuma-Zuma, persuaded them to sign contracts written in Russian, a language they did not understand. These contracts have now allegedly compelled them to fight in the ongoing war.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, News24 received a desperate message in the early hours of Tuesday morning from one of the men stationed in the war-torn Donbas region near Donetsk, approximately 10km from the front lines. He conveyed the perilous circumstances they were facing.
Before being sent off to war, the man told News24 earlier on Monday night that he had been told he would be going to training. “I’m being given a gun now, and they say were are going for training for a month.”
Later, he said: “My brother, we are now stuck in a truck. We are going somewhere and with people we don’t know. There are like 50 of us, as you can hear, [in] the truck. It’s fine, my brother, I hope we are going to come back, we don’t know.”
Since News24 initially broke the story two weeks ago, six of the men and numerous family members have alleged that Zuma-Sambudla, Khoza, and Xuma-Zuma were responsible for recruiting them and sending them to Russia.
In videos sent to News24 via their families, one of the men recounted that Zuma-Sambudla had promised to join them in Russia for a year, undergoing the same training and hardships, including sleeping in the mountains armed with guns and grenades.
However, this promise never materialised. Zuma-Sambudla reportedly returned to South Africa as soon as the men were deployed to the front lines. News24 has also learnt that Zuma-Sambudla returned with Andile Mandela, a grandson of Nelson Mandela, and two other men.
Zuma-Sambudla is also currently facing trial in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban on charges of inciting violence and terrorism for her alleged role in the conflagration around the July 2021 riots.
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