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A radio presenter with South Africa’s public broadcaster has appeared in court on charges linked to the alleged recruitment of men to fight for the Russian military.
Nonkululeko Patricia Mantula is one of five people accused of violating a law that bars South Africans from joining foreign armed forces without government approval. Prosecutors say the group has not yet been asked to plead.
The arrests are the first since the government announced in November that 17 South Africans had “seemingly” been lured into joining mercenary forces in the Russia–Ukraine war. Police said they are not, at this stage, linking the two matters.
Mantula, 39, is a freelance presenter on The Morning Bliss programme on SABC’s SAFM radio station. In a statement, the broadcaster said it would allow the legal process to unfold and had no further comment. Mantula has not responded publicly.
Her arrest, along with those of four men aged 21 to 46, comes days after the dramatic resignation of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla from parliament. The daughter of former President Jacob Zuma has been accused of tricking the 17 South Africans — including some of her relatives — into joining Russian mercenary forces, an allegation she denies.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mantula and her co-accused were detained after a tip-off from officers at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. They were intercepted before boarding a flight to Russia via the UAE and removed from the gate “after being deemed suspicious”.
The NPA alleges Mantula facilitated the travel and recruitment of her co-accused into the Russian military. All five appeared briefly in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on Monday and were remanded in custody. They are due back in court on 8 December for a bail hearing.
In November, the government said it had received distress calls from the 17 South Africans stranded in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being recruited under false promises of lucrative contracts. It said it was working through diplomatic channels to bring them home.
South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at more than 30%, with youth unemployment significantly higher — making young people particularly vulnerable to overseas recruitment schemes.
Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation followed a police complaint filed by her half-sister, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube, who alleges the 17 men — including eight of her own relatives — were handed to a Russian mercenary group “without their knowledge or consent”. The Hawks say the case is being investigated as a crime against the state.
Similar recruitment and trafficking concerns have surfaced elsewhere on the continent. In September, Kenyan authorities said they rescued more than 20 people who had been lured with fake job offers in Russia but were destined for Ukraine’s battlefield. Ukraine has previously acknowledged holding fighters from countries including Somalia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cuba and Sri Lanka as prisoners of war, and has faced past criticism for attempting to recruit foreign nationals, including Africans.
