Five South Africans have appeared in court on charges relating to recruiting and fighting for Russia in its war with Ukraine, amid allegations that 17 South Africans were duped into being on the front lines of the conflict.
A female suspect was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport outside Johannesburg on Thursday while returning to South Africa, police said. Three suspects were arrested at the airport on Friday and another on Saturday.
A police statement said: “The arrests were made based on a tip-off from OR Tambo SAPS (South African Police Service) regarding three men traveling to Russia via the UAE, who were cleared as suspects at the boarding gate and referred to the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) for crimes against state section.
“Preliminary investigations have revealed that a South African woman was facilitating the travel of these individuals and their recruitment into the military of the Russian Federation.”
The five suspects who appeared at a brief hearing and were remanded in custody were Nonkululeko Mantula, 39, a national radio presenter; Thulani Mazibuko, 24; Xolani Ntuli, 47; Sipamandla Tshabalala, 23; and Sfiso Mabena, 21. The proceedings were adjourned until a bail hearing on 8 December.
The arrests follow competing police affidavits filed by two daughters of former South African President Jacob Zuma. It is illegal for South Africans to fight for or help foreign armies without government permission.
On 6 November, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was investigating how the men became trapped in eastern Ukraine and was working to bring them home.
On 22 November, Nkosazana Zuma-Mancube filed a police report alleging that her sister Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and two others, Sifokazi Zuma and Blessing Khoza, had recruited 17 people, including eight of Zuma’s relatives, by telling them they would train as bodyguards for the Zumas’ UMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
Juma-Sambudla claimed that after attending a month-long training in Russia, Khoza had duped her into enrolling on a legitimate course. The 43-year-old had resigned as MK MP last week.
Russia’s embassy in South Africa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
South African attention was also drawn to the allegations against Mntula, who hosted the 3-5am show Morning Bliss on SAFM, a radio station owned by the national South African Broadcasting Corporation. Posts on his Instagram account on 9 November showed him speaking at events in Moscow.
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According to his social media, Mantula was co-chairman of the BRICS Journalists Association. BRICS is a non-Western group of countries that includes Russia and South Africa.
The BRICS Journalists Association was banned by the EU in July, which said it was a Russian NGO founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries until he was killed in a plane crash in 2023.
The EU sanctions tracker said: “BJA has been used as a vehicle to spread pro-Russian narratives and disinformation under the guise of independent journalism, including fake content originating from the Storm-1516 information manipulation set.”
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