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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today formally laid criminal charges against uMkhonto we Sizwe Party MP, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, for her alleged central role in recruiting and trafficking young South African men into the Russian war effort in Ukraine.

We are laying these charges in terms of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act 15 of 1998.

This follows new evidence received by the DA, including around 100 WhatsApp messages from a group allegedly administered by Zuma-Sambudla. These messages show clear coordination in luring at least 22 men to Russia under the guise of “personal development”, “security training”, and even promises of Russian or Canadian citizenship.

Families of the men have independently provided consistent testimonies confirming the same pattern of deception. One mother said her son was “excited for a new life” and believed he would return with foreign citizenship — only to find himself trapped in a warzone.

According to information gathered, once the men arrived in Russia:

• Their passports and clothing were burned,
• Their phones confiscated,
• And communication with families gradually cut off until it ceased entirely.

This directly contradicts every promise made to them and constitutes clear indicators of trafficking and coercion.

Of the 22 men who initially travelled, 19 remain in Russia — including 17 South Africans — now reportedly deployed in a “red zone” in North Donetsk as part of Russian forces. Three were returned early due to family connections to “Madiba”.

The charges laid today include human trafficking, contraventions of South Africa’s anti-mercenary legislation, and additional offences that the SAPS must now investigate.

This scandal raises profound foreign policy concerns. South Africa has strict prohibitions on mercenary recruitment, yet Defence Intelligence and DIRCO remained publicly silent until today — despite indications that both the Presidency and former President Jacob Zuma were aware of the situation.

While Minister Angie Motshekga has now confirmed that the State Security Agency is liaising with the Russian government, DIRCO continues to offer no explanation for its absence from this crisis.

Their silence can only be interpreted as tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This dangerous foreign policy ambiguity is already straining relations with South Africa’s major trading partners, who increasingly view the ANC’s political proximity to Russia as a growing security risk.

The DA will now intensify its efforts in Parliament to force full transparency from the state. We will pursue urgent joint committee meetings to determine what DIRCO, Defence Intelligence and the SSA knew, and what actions — if any — they took as these young men were trafficked out of the country.

We will also escalate pressure on government to immediately begin the process of repatriating the 17 South Africans still trapped in an active Russian warzone. Above all, the DA will ensure that every individual responsible for the recruitment, deception and trafficking of these men is held fully accountable under South African law.

Issued by Chris Hattingh MP - DA Spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans