Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, has resigned from her official posts amid allegations that she sent 17 men to Russia to fight under the false pretext of training.
Zuma-Sambudla had resigned from her party voluntarily and left all public roles, according to Reuters.
“The national officials have accepted comrade Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s decision to resign and support her efforts to ensure that these young South Africans are brought back safely to their families,” Nathi Nhleko, a fellow lawmaker and organizer of Zuma-Sambudla’s Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) opposition party, told reporters.
The MK Party is Jacob Zuma’s breakaway political movement in South Africa, built around his support base and focused on challenging the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
Zuma-Sambudla was present at the press conference but made no comments on the accusations, according to Reuters.
Allegations against Zuma-Sambudla
According to correspondence cited by Bloomberg, Zuma-Sambudla reportedly organized the transfer of 17 men from South Africa and Botswana to Russia.
The men were reportedly told they were being sent for bodyguard courses linked to MK. Instead, they were later presented with military contracts written in a language they did not understand and were soon unreachable by relatives.
Photographs reviewed by Bloomberg showed the men in camouflage uniforms undergoing combat training with Russian instructors. Relatives shared messages with journalists in which Zuma-Sambudla assured families that the men would “not be sent to the front line” and claimed she would “personally pull them out” if that happened.
WhatsApp messages reviewed by journalists show one of the young men telling Zuma-Sambudla that “we are packing and preparing to move to the war zone,” asking why their phones and bank cards were being confiscated.
Zuma-Sambudla reassures him: “It’s not the front line. They are just scaring you.” She adds that he may only be assigned patrols, cooking duties or gun cleaning, and promises to “personally” retrieve them if they are sent to the front line.
In other messages, Zuma-Sambudla claims she herself attended the same bodyguard training course, telling the recruits that instructors “will taunt you like they did with me,” but insisting that “all will be well.”
The case had been handed to a special police unit that investigates crimes against the state to determine the charges.
The presidency said in early November it had been asked to bring home the 17 men who were allegedly “trapped” in Donbas after being lured there “under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts.”
In early November, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said over 1,400 African nationals were fighting for Russia in Ukraine – among them were over 200 Kenyans, one of whom was a former athlete who claimed he was “press-ganged” into joining the Russian military.
In June, Kyiv troops captured two Cameroon nationals who claimed they initially went to Russia “to make shampoo” and “fix teeth” before being recruited for war.
In September, Kyiv Post visited a Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camp and interviewed Joshua, a Ghanaian student who studied in Moscow before joining the Russian army, and Mohammed Salah from Egypt, who said he was lured by the promise of Russian citizenship.