‘Our children were sold’: South Africans sent to fight Russian war | Russia-Ukraine war news

Durban, South Africa – When Sipho Dlamini* got off the plane from Russia, back home to the South African port city of Durban last week, he was carrying nothing but the clothes on his back.

“They made us burn everything we had,” the 32-year-old said. “Clothes, documents, even family photos. It was hell from the start.”

Dlamini is one of more than a dozen South Africans who have returned from Russia, where they say they were lured under false pretenses and pushed to the front lines of the war in Ukraine – mirroring the experiences of other African men from countries including Kenya and Zimbabwe.

In November last year, it emerged that several South Africans aged between 20 and 39 had been sent to Russia for what they believed was security training. But soon he was recruited into a paramilitary group and sent to fight in Ukraine.

At the center of the controversy is former South African president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who resigned as a lawmaker in December after she was involved in a recruitment drive and police launched an investigation against her.

The appointees from Nkandla, Zuma’s home region in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, returned after incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa reached out to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for support on the matter, the presidency said last week.

Returnees and their families now fear reprisals from recruiters and possible prosecution under South African law, which prohibits civilians from fighting in foreign conflicts. He spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity.

“We were told we would be trained as VIP bodyguards,” said Thabo Khumalo*, 28, who told Al Jazeera that Juma-Sambudla and her stepmother were at the forefront of recruiting the men.

“Initially, she pretended to go to Russia to receive us. But later we learned that she had never left South Africa, even though she was pretending to be the leader of our WhatsApp chat group,” he said. “How we ended up in the trenches.”

Thulani Mahlangu, a spokeswoman for the returnees’ families, says Juma-Sambudla, 43, and her accomplice were paid at least 14 million rand (about $845,000) by Russia’s Wagner Group to secure the men’s services.

“Our children were sold,” said one parent. “They were promised jobs, but instead they were used.”

In a statement to police last year, Zuma-Sambudla claimed she was a “victim” after allegedly being duped by promises of lucrative security deals in Russia.

After the story first broke in the South African media, Zuma-Sambudla was forced to step down from his seat in parliament, where he represented his father’s opposition party, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). Another of Zuma’s daughters, Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, opened a case against her half-sister for her role in the alleged recruitment.

In KZN province, those close to the Jumas were also targeted.

A relative of former president Zuma – who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal – told Al Jazeera that two sons and two grandsons had been sent to Russia. “We live in fear,” he said. “We wanted them home alive.”

The MK party has distanced itself from the scandal, but former president Zuma’s own efforts to secure the men’s release have failed. It was Ramaphosa who finally persuaded Putin to allow his return.

Continental Campaign

At the start of their contracts in Russia, several men told Al Jazeera, they were paid a sum of 80,000 rand (about $4,800) – which they quickly sent home when they realized the conditions of their employment.

“I immediately gave it to my mother,” said Khumalo. “I thought I was going to die there.”

In Russia, recruits were given military uniforms and weapons and only one week of basic drills, he said.

“We were cannon fodder. Some of us didn’t know how to shoot properly before they pushed us forward,” Khumalo said.

On the front lines, the men were stationed in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, the primary battleground of the four-year war.

All who returned told Al Jazeera that they witnessed violence and death – as well as ill-treatment of African fighters.

“African recruits were made to do the most dangerous duties on the front line,” Khumalo said. “Some were forced to pick up the dead and wounded as drones hovered over them … others were shouted down and racially abused by Russians. It was sad to see Africans treated like this.”

Khumalo said it was a “heartbreaking” experience, only worse for those who never returned home.

“They treated the Africans badly,” admitted Mandla Zulu*, 44. “We were racially abused, beaten and sent to the most dangerous areas… We saw comrades from Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Kenya die in numbers.”

South Africa’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war is part of a wider African crisis.

Ukraine’s foreign minister said in November that more than 1,400 citizens of 36 African countries had been identified in Russian ranks. Casualties from Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa and other countries are among the frontline casualties, according to reports.

In Ghana, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa announced that his country had lost about 50 people and said he would go to Moscow to negotiate the release of captured nationals. Cameroon reported dozens of deaths, while Zimbabwe and South Africa also confirmed casualties among their citizens. Kenyan Principal Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is preparing a mission to Russia in March to seek the release of Kenyan fighters.

All Eyes on Wagner, a monitoring group, documented an aggressive Russian recruitment drive in Africa, showing how vulnerable men were promised jobs, training or passages to Europe – to be sent into a war zone with minimal preparation.

“Some of our African brothers (joined the war) because they were promised that they would be smuggled to Western Europe if they fought,” said Zulu, one of the returnees from South Africa. “That dream was bait.”

All eyes on Wagner said more South Africans could be fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Arrests and Investigations

After Pretoria opened diplomatic channels with Moscow, the South African men were repatriated in two separate batches – the first four returned, followed by 11 a week later.

But not all made it home unscathed: one returned in a wheelchair, another lost a leg in a drone attack and ended up in a Russian hospital, said Mahlangu, a spokesman for the families.

The government said last week that two South Africans had died in Russia.

Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesman Crispin Phiri said the government was working with their families to decide whether their remains should be cremated in Russia or repatriated for burial at home.

“It is very difficult for us as government officials because we have to be sensitive to what they are doing,” he said.

On arrival in Durban last week, the 11 returnees said police took them to a holding area at King Shaka International Airport. There, they were made to surrender their phones and gadgets so investigators could gather information before being allowed to leave.

From Durban, they traveled back to Nkandla – more than 210 km away – to be reunited with their families.

“It was a huge relief to finally go home,” said Khumalo. “At some point, we thought we’d never come back.”

South Africa’s Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks, confirmed that 15 men were under investigation. Colonel Katlego Mogale said the investigation will focus on violations of the Foreign Military Assistance Regulation Act, which prohibits mercenary activity and regulates the provision of military and security services by South Africans abroad.

Hawkes, who investigates organized crime and corruption, said five other suspects unrelated to the case were arrested in Gauteng province late last year as part of an investigation into the recruitment of South Africans for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The group faces charges of fraud, people-trafficking and violating the Foreign Military Assistance Control Act.

South Africa’s neutrality is under scrutiny

When President Ramaphosa announced the return of South African recruits last week, he expressed his “heartfelt gratitude” for Putin’s help.

Throughout the war, South Africa tried to maintain a non-aligned stance and maintained strong ties with Moscow as a fellow BRICS member, along with Brazil, India and China.

But Pretoria’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war has sparked debate, with experts questioning its neutrality. “Our nonaligned stance does not mean we condone Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, which violates international law,” said Elizabeth Sideropoulos of the South African Institute of International Affairs, a think tank.

South Africa has historic ties with Russia, dating back to the apartheid era, when the Soviet Union helped arm and train resistance fighters opposing the apartheid regime. This has led to a delicate political balancing act under a democracy.

However, South Africa’s absence from United Nations resolutions condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine has drawn criticism from Western nations in recent years.

Last Tuesday, the Russia-Ukraine war entered its fourth year with no sign of ending anytime soon. Casualties — Ukrainians, Russians and foreign mercenaries fighting on both sides — continue to rise, underscoring the human cost of a conflict that draws vulnerable recruits beyond Europe’s borders.

Meanwhile, for the families of the fighters – especially those who feel cheated in the war – politics is less important than the pain they feel.

“We want our children to be alive,” said one parent. “And we want those who defrauded us to face justice.”

*Names have been changed to protect privacy and security.