Five South Africans Arrested for Alleged Recruitment to Fight for Russia

Five South Africans have been arrested for allegedly recruiting people to fight for Russia in Ukraine, after a tipoff at OR Tambo Airport. The case involves claims that 17 men were misled into thinking they were being trained as MK party bodyguards. Among the suspects is radio presenter Nonkululeko Mantula. The situation is tied to conflicting affidavits from Jacob Zuma’s daughters, and authorities are investigating how South Africans ended up in the conflict zone.

Five South Africans have appeared in court on charges connected to recruiting and sending people to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine, following allegations that 17 South Africans were deceived into joining the conflict. The arrests unfolded over several days at OR Tambo International Airport outside Johannesburg, where a female suspect was first detained on Thursday upon her return to the country. Police then arrested three more suspects at the airport on Friday and another individual on Saturday, all in connection with the same alleged recruitment network.

According to a detailed police statement, the arrests were triggered by a tipoff from OR Tambo SAPS about three men who were preparing to travel to Russia via the United Arab Emirates. They were intercepted at the boarding gate after raising suspicion and were handed over to the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit. Investigators soon discovered that a South African woman had been coordinating their travel and acting as a recruiter, facilitating their entry into the Russian Federation’s military structure.

Those who appeared in court during a brief hearing were identified as Nonkululeko Mantula, 39, a national radio presenter; Thulani Mazibuko, 24; Xolani Ntuli, 47; Siphamandla Tshabalala, 23; and Sfiso Mabena, 21. All five were remanded in custody, and their case was postponed to 8 December for a formal bail hearing. Their arrests have drawn national attention not only because of the seriousness of the charges but also because of their links to a wider political controversy.

The case deepened when it emerged that two daughters of former South African president Jacob Zuma had submitted competing police affidavits. South African law strictly forbids citizens from joining or assisting foreign militaries without explicit government authorization, making the allegations particularly serious. Earlier in November, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that it was investigating how several South African men had become stranded in eastern Ukraine while allegedly fighting for Russia, and that efforts were being made to bring them home safely.

On 22 November, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube lodged a police complaint accusing her sister, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, along with Siphokazi Xuma and Blessing Khoza, of recruiting 17 South African men under false pretenses. According to the affidavit, the men were told they would be trained as bodyguards for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party associated with the Zumas. Instead, they were allegedly transported with the intention of being deployed to the warfront. Zuma-Sambudla responded by saying she was herself misled by Khoza into believing the recruitment was for a legitimate training program in Russia. Her involvement led to heightened scrutiny, and she resigned as an MK Member of Parliament the previous week.

Public interest intensified when it surfaced that Mantula, one of the accused, had been an early-morning host on SAfm’s Morning Bliss program, a station under the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Posts on her Instagram page earlier in November showed her attending events in Moscow, while additional information from her social media accounts revealed that she had been serving as co-chair of the Brics Journalists Association. The association, which aligns with the BRICS bloc that includes South Africa and Russia, was placed under EU sanctions in July. European authorities described it as a Russian-linked NGO founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late head of the Wagner Group, and alleged that it had been used to spread pro-Russian messaging and disinformation disguised as independent journalism. The EU’s sanctions tracker further claimed that the association disseminated content tied to the Storm-1516 information manipulation network.

These developments have raised questions about the extent of foreign influence, the vulnerability of unemployed or economically struggling South Africans to recruitment schemes, and the broader implications for South Africa’s neutrality in the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict. The Russian embassy in South Africa has so far not responded to requests for comment, leaving many uncertainties surrounding the scope of the recruitment operation and the fate of the remaining men reportedly taken to Ukraine.