Under oath, Duduzile Zuma Sambudla stated that she was not the brains behind a purported mercenary recruitment campaign to Russia, but rather the first victim of a sophisticated scam that allegedly transported over a dozen South Africans to a combat area.
According to The Star, her sworn document, which was sent in to the Sandton Police Station on Monday afternoon, gives a different account of what happened than her sister Nkosazana Zuma Mncube’s public claims.
Zuma Mncube accused the MP and two others on Saturday of “tricking 17 men into fighting for Russian mercenaries,” saying the recruits had been informed they were going to Russia to receive bodyguard training for the Mkhonto weSizwe Party.
The South African government acknowledged receiving calls from seventeen residents who thought they had been duped into enlisting as mercenaries in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The males, who ranged in age from 20 to 39, claimed that offers of lucrative contracts had enticed them.
Zuma Sambudla describes herself as blindsided, manipulated and “a victim of deception, misrepresentation, and manipulation.” At the centre of her account is a man identified as Blessing Rhulani Khoza, whom she claims she had neither met nor had any prior knowledge of before he contacted her through WhatsApp.
“Prior to this unsolicited message, I had no relationship, acquaintance, or prior knowledge of this person whatsoever,” she writes, detailing how Khoza had portrayed himself as a South African residing in Russia with access to what he described as a lawful, structured, non-combat paramilitary training programme designed for civilians. According to her affidavit, he repeatedly assured her that the programme was safe, skills-based, and legitimate.
Believing his assurances, Zuma Sambudla travelled to Russia at her own expense, where she completed one month of what she now perceives as surface-level training. “I experienced only non-combat, controlled activities. I was never exposed to combat, never deployed,” she states.
Because her experience seemed harmless and legitimate, she was confident the programme was exactly as Khoza had claimed. When she was later informed that more participants could be accommodated, she innocently shared this information with relatives and close family friends, insisting she never recruited or lured anyone.
“I shared information innocently. They chose to join on their voluntary interest,” she explains. Her own family members travelled to Russia, an indication to her that she had no awareness of any danger. “I would not, under any circumstances, knowingly expose my own family or any other person to harm,” she asserted.
Ultimately, 22 South Africans went to Russia. Three failed medical requirements and returned home, while 19 remained. Zuma Sambudla expressed devastation upon learning that the participants had allegedly been taken toward a conflict zone. “This discovery caused me profound shock and distress. It was at this point that I realised that both I and the others had been scammed,” she writes.