A South African radio presenter appeared in court on Monday accused of recruiting men to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine.
Nonkululeko Mantula, 39, was arrested along with four men after a tip-off, South African police said. She is accused of recruiting the four men and organizing them to join the Russian army.
South African police said three of the men were detained while trying to board a flight to Russia via the United Arab Emirates. The Police said they believe another person had already traveled to Russia after being recruited by Mantula.
It is illegal in South Africa to fight for another country’s military without government permission. The five suspects arrested in South Africa have been ordered to be held in custody pending a bail hearing next week.
A person walks past a poster depicting a Russian soldier participating in military action in Ukraine reading “The pride of Russia” in St. Petersburg, November 24, 2025 – AP photo
The arrest of Mantula, a presenter on state broadcaster SAFM radio station, comes as police are separately investigating the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma for allegedly tricking 17 other men into fighting as mercenaries for Russia in Ukraine.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla resigned as a lawmaker for the MK Party in opposition to her father last week over the allegations.
Her half-sister accused her of tricking the men into traveling to Russia under the pretense that they would receive security training that would help them get a job.
Zuma-Sambudla was previously accused of promoting Russian interests over the war in Ukraine.
Support for Russia
A 2023 report by the international non-profit Center for Information Resiliency said Zuma-Sambudla’s social media account was instrumental in spreading pro-Russian messages shortly after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
The South African government said last month it had received distress calls from the 17 South Africans, who had been forced to fight for a Russian mercenary group in eastern Ukraine and were now trapped there.
Another South African political party claimed it had information that the men’s passports and clothes were burned and their mobile phones confiscated when they arrived in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks while visiting one of the command posts of the Russian Army’s Western group at an undisclosed location, November 20, 2025 – AP photo
The South African government has launched a separate investigation into how the men came to be on the war front and is working with international law enforcement agencies to repatriate them.
Russia has been accused of recruiting men from other countries to fight in the war under the pretext of offering them jobs. He was also accused of luring women from South Africa and other parts of Africa to work in Russian drone factories through social media campaigns promising them jobs in fields such as catering and hospitality.
The South African government has warned people to be cautious about campaigns promoted by South African social media influencers promising jobs and study opportunities in Russia.