A fierce family dispute has erupted within the household of South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, after one of his daughters filed a criminal complaint accusing her sister of recruiting young men to fight for Russian mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube claims that her sister, Member of Parliament Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, along with two accomplices, deceived 17 South African men into travelling to Russia under the guise of receiving bodyguard training for Jacob Zuma’s political party, Mkhonto Wesizwe (MK).
According to the complaint, the men – aged between 20 and 39 – were instead channelled toward mercenary groups operating in the ongoing war. Police have confirmed that investigations are underway. Zuma-Sambudla, 43, has yet to respond to requests for comment.
South Africa’s government had earlier revealed that it received distress calls from the same 17 citizens, who said they had been misled with promises of lucrative contracts. With youth unemployment soaring above 45%, analysts warn that many young South Africans are vulnerable to such recruitment schemes.
Zuma-Mncube says she felt a “moral obligation” to report her sister’s alleged actions. Her complaint follows a recent Bloomberg report claiming that similar recruitment also targeted young men from neighbouring Botswana.
The allegations pile onto Zuma-Sambudla’s ongoing legal troubles. She is already standing trial on terrorism-related charges linked to social media comments made during the deadly July 2021 unrest that left more than 300 people dead. She maintains that the charges are politically driven.
Jacob Zuma, who was jailed for contempt of court after refusing to participate in a corruption inquiry during his presidency, later founded the MK party, which secured third place in last year’s elections. The BBC has reached out to both MK and the Jacob Zuma Foundation for comment.