By Everson Luhanga
- The Hawks arrested four men on their way to Russia after they were allegedly recruited by a South African woman linked to a wider scheme.
- Their arrests come as 17 other South African men remain stuck in Russia after claiming they were tricked into joining a military-linked programme.
Four South African men have been charged after they were caught trying to travel to Russia to join the military.
The men were stopped on Friday, 28 November, at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg as they were about to board a flight via the United Arab Emirates.
Police at the airport raised the alarm after they noticed the group acting suspiciously. They were pulled from the boarding gate and handed over to the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, better known as the Hawks, said a woman from South Africa is believed to have arranged the trip and helped recruit the men for the Russian military.
She was questioned at the same airport just one day earlier, on 27 November. The investigation quickly led officers to three more suspects, who were arrested the next day.
The Hawks also seized two backpacks and several mobile phones, which are being examined.
The four men will appear in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 1 December. They are being charged under the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.
The Hawks said they are working with other intelligence services to investigate if there is a bigger recruitment network operating in South Africa.
This case follows growing public concern over the fate of 17 South African men stranded in Russia.
They claim they were recruited online and promised security work, only to find themselves in a military-related programme. The Department of International Relations and Co-operation has been trying to bring them home.
Separately, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party confirmed that cases have been opened in South Africa involving allegations that individuals linked to the Zuma family helped send young men abroad for military work. Authorities have not confirmed any wrongdoing or laid charges.
In the same period, Duduzile Zuma resigned from the MK Party’s national leadership. Her resignation came as social media posts linked her to Russian military recruitment, though she has denied any involvement.
Pictured above: OR Tambo International Airport, where the suspects were arrested.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons.
