South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will file criminal charges against uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla for her alleged role in recruiting South African youths to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The party claims it has gathered substantial evidence showing that 17 young men were lured to Russia with promises of lucrative employment opportunities but were instead handed over to a Russian mercenary group and are now reportedly trapped in Ukraine.
The development comes days after Zuma-Sambudla’s sister opened a criminal case against her and two other individuals in connection with the same allegations.
DA spokesperson on Defence and Military Veterans, Chris Hattingh, said the families of the missing men have given consistent accounts of how their relatives were deceived.
“I have been in contact with families and everybody tells exactly the same story: the young men were lured into Russia for personal development, security training, those were the words used. They were totally misled,” Hattingh said.
He added that the men’s passports and clothing were allegedly burned, and their phones gradually confiscated until all communication ceased.
“It’s a serious situation,” he said.
DA Demands Parliamentary Action
The DA has called for an urgent joint meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committees on Defence and International Relations, saying the matter requires immediate clarification from the government.
Hattingh criticised what he described as a “concerning silence” from key state institutions.
“We have asked that DIRCO should come and explain, and the State Security Agency should come and explain, with military intelligence. We would like to know what’s going on. All of these institutions are silent, nobody is saying a word,” he said.
Hattingh added that the party understands that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office has reached out, and that former President Jacob Zuma accompanied his daughter Duduzile to Russia in an attempt to intervene, but there has been no official confirmation or update.
“We want these joint portfolio committees to meet. We want people to come and tell us what’s happening, what DIRCO is doing, what the Presidency is doing. We want these people back,” Hattingh said.
