South African radio presenter arrested on suspicion of recruiting fighters for Russia

A South African radio presenter appeared in court on Monday accused of recruiting men to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Nonkululeko Mantula, 39, was arrested alongside four men after a tip-off, South African police said. She is accused of recruiting the four men and organising for them to join the Russian army.

South African police said three of the men were detained while trying to board a flight to Russia via the United Arab Emirates. Police said they believed another person had already travelled to Russia after being recruited by Mantula.

It is illegal in South Africa to fight for another country's military without the government's permission. The five suspects arrested in South Africa were ordered to be held in custody until a bail hearing next week.

The arrest of Mantula, a presenter on the state broadcaster's SAFM radio station, came as police are separately investigating the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma for allegedly tricking another 17 men into fighting as mercenaries for Russia in Ukraine.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla resigned as a lawmaker for her father's opposition MK Party last week over the allegations.

Her half-sister accused her of duping the men into travelling to Russia under the pretence that they would receive security training that would help them secure jobs.

Zuma-Sambudla has previously been accused of promoting Russian interests over the war in Ukraine.

Support for Russia

A 2023 report by the international nonprofit Centre for Information Resilience said Zuma-Sambudla's social media account was instrumental in spreading pro-Russia messages soon after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The South African government said last month that it received distress calls from the 17 South Africans, who had been forced to fight for a Russian mercenary group in eastern Ukraine and were now trapped there.

Another South African political party alleged it had information that the men's passports and clothes were burned and their mobile phones confiscated when they arrived in Russia.

The South African government launched a separate investigation into how the men came to be on the front lines of the war and is working with international law enforcement agencies to repatriate them.

Russia has been accused of recruiting men from other countries to fight in the war under the pretext of offering them jobs. It has also been accused of tricking women from South Africa and other parts of Africa into working in Russian drone factories through social media campaigns promising them jobs in fields like catering and hospitality.

The South African government has warned people to be cautious about campaigns promoted by South African social media influencers that promise jobs and study opportunities in Russia.