The daughter of South Africa’s former leader has been accused of luring men to fight for Russia. Here’s what we know

By Nimi Princewill, CNN

(CNN) — Family ties may become strained for former South African President Jacob Zuma after his eldest daughter accused her half-sister of deceiving 17 men – half of whom are reportedly relatives – into fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

The controversy highlights the growing recruitment of Africans into Russian military forces due to a shortage of Russian recruits as well as the close ties between Moscow and veterans of the African National Congress. Zuma previously belonged to the political party, which originated as a liberation movement that fought for democratic rule in South Africa.

Zuma, 83, stepped down as president in 2018 in the wake of a series of corruption scandals and was expelled from the party he once led in 2024. He received military training in the Soviet Union during apartheid, an institutionalized system of racial segregation that kept Blacks and Whites apart.

Who is Zuma-Sambudla, and what is she accused of?

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, 43, is one of nearly two dozen 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 uMkhonto weSizwe Party — led by her father — following a criminal complaint filed against her by her older half-sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube.

This complaint came after the South African government began investigating how 17 citizens became trapped in the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine. The government was alerted to the men’s plight after they made distress calls asking to return home.

Authorities revealed last month that the men were “lured to join mercenary forces involved in the Ukraine-Russia war under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts.”

Zuma-Mncube alleged that the actions of Zuma-Sambudla and two other individuals contributed to the men’s situation. Zuma-Sambudla has not publicly responded to the accusations.

Under South African law, it is illegal to serve in a foreign military without government approval.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, has also filed criminal charges against Zuma-Sambudla after discussions with the families of the trapped men.

Zuma-Sambudla already faces separate charges of incitement to commit terrorism and public violence, according to prosecutors, for allegedly inciting violence on social media during riots that resulted in more than 300 deaths following her father’s imprisonment for contempt of court charges in 2021. Zuma was released in 2023. Zuma-Sambudla has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lawmaker Chris Hattingh, a Democratic Alliance spokesperson on defense and military veterans, shared his findings with the national broadcaster SABC.

“I have been in contact with families, and everybody tells exactly the same story,” he said, explaining that the men “were totally misled” and “lured into 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 away gradually, and then finally, there’s no contact with them anymore.”

In her defense, Zuma-Sambudla said she did not intend to recruit South Africans to serve as mercenaries in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In an affidavit presented to the police and referenced by the local newspaper, Daily News, she stated that she had been misled by someone named “Khoza,” who contacted her on WhatsApp, claiming to be a South African citizen living in Russia with connections to a “legitimate paramilitary training program” that did not involve combat.

Zuma-Sambudla revealed that she enlisted and participated in the paramilitary training in Russia for a month and was not exposed to any combat situations, according to the newspaper. She then recommended 22 other people, including her relatives, to enroll in the program. Of the 22 people who initially traveled, 17 South Africans are now reportedly in north Donetsk as part of Russian forces.

“Based on my own experience, I believed that the program was lawful and safe. But I, too, was manipulated and used to create a false impression of legitimacy,” she was quoted as saying.

Zuma-Sambudla reportedly assured that she would fully cooperate with authorities.

The South African police announced that they are investigating whether “any criminality, including possible human trafficking, illegal recruitment, exploitation, or fraud, may have contributed to the movement of these individuals to the conflict zone.”

CNN has requested comments from Russia’s military and foreign ministry. In November, however, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated at a press briefing that Russia had no information about the South African nationals and had not yet received any communication from the South African government regarding 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 relations of strategic partnership existing between Russia and South Africa,” she said.

Russian authorities have previously denied pressuring foreigners to enlist in its military.

A recruitment scam or a murky maneuver by the Kremlin?

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 to the so-called ‘meat assaults’ where they are quickly killed,” he stated last month.

Current information regarding Russia’s personnel losses is limited, but Western intelligence agencies estimate that the Kremlin has suffered over 1 million casualties, including more than 250,000 deaths, since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The United Kingdom’s defense ministry estimates that approximately 1,000 Russian soldiers are killed or injured each day.

Recent events in South Africa mirror controversies in Kenya, where authorities are working to secure the release of more than 200 of its nationals involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Kenya’s foreign ministry 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, only one month after arriving for a driving job.

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 job. Those who reveal the job’s true nature advertise enticing offers, including quick visas, salaries up to $2,500 per month, and free healthcare.

Paul Mudau, a senior lecturer in Public, Constitutional and International law at the University of South Africa, explained, “Scammers handle the initial lure, often through ads on Telegram or Facebook for ‘jobs’ in Russia.”

However, he told CNN, “Once recruits arrive, Russian authorities detain them, force them to sign Russian-language contracts, and deploy them with minimal training.”

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CNN’s Nina Subkhanberdina contributed to this report.