Bloomberg News has revealed that the “Russian Recruiter” behind the events that led to 17 South African men being sent to Ukraine’s Donbas region to fight alongside Russian troops is Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma-Sambudla is currently standing trial for incitement to public violence in the Durban High Court. Prosecutors accuse her of inciting the 2021 riots that erupted after her father’s arrest, which killed more than 350 people and caused around R20 billion in damage.
According to Bloomberg’s investigation, Zuma-Sambudla allegedly deceived the group of South Africans a few months ago by telling them that they were travelling to Russia for “security-guard training courses” and would return home to work for uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), her father’s political party. She also claimed she had completed the training herself.
The men say that when they arrived in Russia, officials gave them documents written in Russian, which they believed were training agreements. The documents were actually military contracts. When they realised they were being deployed to the front line in Ukraine, they contacted Zuma-Sambudla for an explanation and asked why officials had confiscated their bank cards and cellphones.
‘Recruited for work, not for war’ – Zuma-Sambudla
Zuma-Sambudla replied: “This is not the front line. They are just trying to scare you.”
She told them they would “just be patrolling, cooking food, or cleaning weapons”, and promised she would personally retrieve them if Russia sent them to the front.
The men then contacted the South African embassy and asked for assistance, saying they were trapped in a war zone. Authorities initially believed they were mercenaries – it is illegal for South Africans to fight for a foreign military without government authorisation – but it later emerged that they had been recruited under false pretences and feared for their lives.
Neither Zuma-Sambudla nor any representative from MK has commented on the matter.
Foreign recruitment for jobs can be human trafficking
Three months ago, a similar yet unrelated scheme emerged when influencers recruited young women for supposed job opportunities in Russia. The jobs turned out to involve munitions work for the Russian army. The women were misled about the nature and conditions of the work, and the influencers later apologised.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has urged young South Africans to be wary of unverified job offers abroad, particularly in Russia and the Middle East.
“If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is,” said spokesperson Clayson Monyela. “If in doubt, check with our embassy or verify the job offer with a trustworthy source.”
