Zuma’s daughter says she was ‘scammed’ after sharing Russian training that led South Africans to fight in Ukraine

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a member of parliament and daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, has told police she travelled to Russia for roughly a month of military-style training and later passed course details to relatives and other South Africans — information that appears to have helped recruit people who were subsequently sent to fight in Ukraine.

Allegations and family dispute

Authorities allege Ms Zuma-Sambudla was one of three people involved in recruiting 17 men who are now reported to be stranded in occupied parts of eastern Ukraine. The claim was made in a criminal complaint by her half-sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube, who says the men were handed over to a mercenary group without their informed consent.

What the recruits say

The men say they believed they were travelling to Russia for bodyguard training and expected to return to work in the protection unit of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party. Instead, they say they were given contracts written in Russian — a language they did not understand — had their passports confiscated, and were dispatched to the front line in Donbas after only a few weeks of instruction.

Ms Zuma-Sambudla’s account

Ms Zuma-Sambudla, 43, told police she was first contacted via WhatsApp by a man using the name Blessing Rhulani Khoza, who described a "lawful, structured, non-combat paramilitary training programme in Russia" that was open to civilians. She says she paid her own way to Russia, experienced only controlled, non-combat activities during her month there, and never encountered combat or deployment.

"At no point did he state or imply that participants would be placed in a conflict zone, used in combat or exposed to danger," she told investigators.

After returning from Russia, she says she shared course information with others, and around 22 South Africans — including some of her relatives — subsequently travelled. When those recruits discovered their passports had been taken and that they had been sent to the front after minimal training, Ms Zuma-Sambudla says she realised they had all been "scammed." She added that she flew back to Russia for two weeks in an effort to help the men.

Wider context

Investigations and reports suggest this episode is part of a broader pattern of African nationals being lured to fight for Russian forces with false job offers, promises of high pay or the prospect of documents or passports. Ukrainian authorities estimate several hundred to more than a thousand African fighters are serving with Russian forces, many of whom have reportedly been killed.

The case has heightened interest and concern in South Africa, where it has also exposed a bitter rift within the Zuma family and prompted questions about how the recruitment network operated.