Seventeen South African men, aged between 20 and 39, were allegedly promised lucrative jobs overseas but ended up being sent to fight for Russian-aligned forces in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
It is alleged that they thought they were departing for legitimate security or training work but were forced into combat once they arrived.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the government is investigating the matter and has condemned the exploitation of vulnerable South Africans by foreign military groups.
Reports allege that some of the men were recruited via people linked to the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party, who packed the opportunity as Russian “security training”.
This raises serious questions about who is operating such recruitment networks inside South Africa and whether they are connected to foreign influence campaigns.
The outsourcing of South African citizens to a foreign military power is nothing but a profound breach of sovereignty and a blatant disregard for our national security protocols.
The “Browse Mole” intelligence report, compiled in 2006 by the Scorpions, already warned that Jacob Zuma had close links with Russian intelligence (the GRU) and other foreign networks, which could later be used to influence South African politics.
The current situation suggests those warnings were not taken seriously enough.
It was a catastrophic failure of oversight that these red flags were ignored and the report itself was suppressed by those with a vested interest in Zuma’s rise.
South Africa’s Prohibition of Mercenary Activities Act (2006) and Citizenship Act (1995) make it illegal for any South African to take part in a foreign war without permission.
Government must now enforce these laws, protect our people from being tricked into illegal combat, and investigate any foreign funding or political links involved.
Foreign powers must never be allowed to use South Africa’s unemployed youth for their own wars.
This incident shows clear gaps in our national security system.
I will write to the Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee for Defence, demanding a joint sitting with the Committee for International Relations, so that this matter may be interrogated by Parliament. The State Security Agency and Defence Intelligence must explain how these recruitment operations were able to happen inside South Africa without being detected.
Parliament must demand answers on what intelligence was gathered, how SSA, DIRCO and Defence Intelligence coordinated their response, and what steps will stop it from happening again.
South Africa cannot be turned into a recruitment ground for foreign militaries — our security services must act now to protect our people and our sovereignty.