The daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma has resigned as MP, accused of luring 17 South Africans into fighting for Russia in Ukraine by telling them they were traveling to Russia to train as bodyguards for Zuma’s Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party.
The most visible and active in politics among her siblings, Duduzile Juma-Sambudla, 43, has voluntarily resigned and stepped back from public roles, while cooperating with police investigations and working to bring the men home, MK president Nkosinathi Nhleko said at a news conference in Durban.
Another MK official, Magasela Mazobe, told reporters: “As far as we know, the resignation has nothing to do with his admission of guilt or his conviction by the organization,” adding that the MK party was not among the group of people caught at the border with the war in Ukraine.
On 22 November another of Zuma’s daughters, Nkosazana Zuma-Mancube, filed a police report, alleging that her sister Zuma-Sambudla and two others, Siphokazi Zuma and Blessing Khoza, had recruited men including eight members of their family. In their statement to police, Zuma-Mancub did not give any motive for the alleged recruitment of their sister.
Juma-Sambudla then filed an affidavit of her own, claiming that she was “the victim of deception, misrepresentation and manipulation” by Khoza, because according to her the men were recruited for a legitimate paramilitary training course.
Juma-Sambudla said she had gone to Russia herself for a month of training, with excerpts from her statement to police published by local media: “I only experienced non-combat, controlled activities. I never encountered combat, never deployed.”
He claimed that he had “innocently shared the information” with other people, who later volunteered to go to Russia. She added, “I would never, under any circumstances, knowingly harm my family or any other person.”
South African outlet News24 said it had obtained videos of three people stranded in Ukraine in which they alleged that Zuma-Sambudla persuaded them to sign contracts in Russian, which they did not understand, and told them she would spend a year training in Russia with him.
MK President Zuma was at the press conference but did not speak. The 83-year-old man has been married six times and currently has four wives and more than 20 children. Polygamy in South Africa is recognized through legislation governing “customary” marriages.
Zuma was ousted as President of South Africa in 2018, accused of directing an era of massive corruption known as “state capture”, charges he has always denied. He founded MK in December 2023, winning 14.6% of the vote in the 2024 national elections.
After receiving both the affidavits, the police on Tuesday confirmed that they are investigating. Zuma-Sambudla did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment. Khoza and Zuma could not be reached for comment.
On 6 November, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was investigating how the men became trapped in eastern Ukraine and was working to bring them home after receiving “distress calls for help”.
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It said people were “lured into joining the mercenaries involved in the Ukraine–Russia war under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts”, noting that South Africans are not allowed to aid or fight in foreign armies without government authorization.
Zuma-Sambudla has consistently posted online her support for Russia and its President Vladimir Putin. On February 22, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, she posted on Twitter a photo of her father and Putin making a toast with an In May, she posted on
South Africa’s African National Congress party, which forced Zuma to step down from the presidency in 2018, has long been close to Russia after the Soviet Union supported its fight against apartheid. The government of South Africa, whose foreign policy is still controlled by the ANC although it is now in coalition, has avoided criticizing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. It has tried to present itself as a neutral mediator in the search for a peace agreement.
Zuma-Sambudla are on trial for inciting violence in a post on X during deadly riots in 2021, when their father was jailed for contempt of court. He has denied the allegations.
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