South African SAFM presenter Nonkululeko Patricia Mantula was arrested on Monday and charged with facilitating the recruitment of South African men to fight for Russia in the Ukraine war. Her arrest follows a broader scandal that erupted in November, involving allegations that men were duped into traveling to Russia for supposed bodyguard jobs but were instead pushed into military service.
The controversy has widened to include members of former President Jacob Zuma’s family, with his daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla under investigation after a tip from her half-sister. Prosecutors said Mantula and four recently intercepted recruits face charges because recruiting South Africans for foreign militaries is illegal, regardless of whether the recruits knowingly enlisted