South African Police Probe Allegations Zuma’s Daughter Recruited Men for Russian War Front
JOHANNESBURG – South African police are investigating shocking allegations against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, accusing her of recruiting at least 17 South African men under false pretenses to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
The probe, confirmed by authorities, centers on claims that Zuma-Sambudla and two other individuals tricked the men, aged 20 to 39, into traveling to Russia by offering them what they believed were security jobs. The alleged recruits were told they would be working as bodyguards for her father’s newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) political party.
The allegations were first brought to light by Zuma-Sambudla’s stepsister, Nkosazana Bongamini Zuma-Mncube, who claims the men were subsequently sent to the front lines in the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine.
“Duduzile must answer for sending these boys to die in a foreign land,” Zuma-Mncube stated. “They were promised one thing, and the grim reality was another.”
Zuma-Sambudla has not yet publicly responded to the accusations. This investigation adds to her existing legal troubles, as she is already facing a separate trial for allegedly inciting the deadly July 2021 riots that erupted in South Africa following her father’s imprisonment.
The situation gained official recognition earlier this month when the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed it had “received distress calls for assistance to return home from 17 South African men… who are trapped in the war-torn Donbas.”
The presidential statement did not name Zuma-Sambudla, but the description of the men and their circumstances aligns directly with the allegations now under police investigation. The case has raised serious questions about the exploitation of South African citizens in foreign conflicts and the potential for domestic political rivalries to have deadly international consequences.
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