The Hawks just opened an investigation after 17 South African guys allegedly got tricked into fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war. Some MK Party MP named Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and two other people are being accused of luring these dudes with fake job offers for security training or VIP protection work, but they ended up in the Donbas region with Russian mercenaries instead. Most of the recruits are young guys from KwaZulu-Natal whose families say they got totally bamboozled.
President Ramaphosa said the whole recruitment thing breaks South African law since citizens can't join foreign wars without government permission. The families are mad at how slow officials have been about getting their relatives home. The Hawks are working with international agencies to figure out if this counts as human trafficking or fraud, though proving the guys didn't know what they were signing up for might be tough. Two separate complaints were filed at Sandton Police Station, and the investigation is still ongoing.
President Ramaphosa said the whole recruitment thing breaks South African law since citizens can't join foreign wars without government permission. The families are mad at how slow officials have been about getting their relatives home. The Hawks are working with international agencies to figure out if this counts as human trafficking or fraud, though proving the guys didn't know what they were signing up for might be tough. Two separate complaints were filed at Sandton Police Station, and the investigation is still ongoing.
