South Africa says 2 of its nationals died fighting for Russia in Ukraine after recruitment scheme

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South Africa says 2 of its nationals died fighting for Russia in Ukraine after recruitment scheme

2026-02-27 01:49 Last Updated At：01:50

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — At least two South Africans have died fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine after being tricked into traveling there by a recruitment scheme, South Africa’s foreign minister said Thursday.

It was the first time South African authorities had confirmed any of their citizens who were allegedly lured to Russia with false promises of employment or training opportunities had been killed in the war.

Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola didn’t name the two people who died or say when or where they had died, but the Foreign Ministry said their families had been informed.

Lamola's announcement came after he traveled to the east coast city of Durban to visit the families of 11 South Africans who returned home on Wednesday after they were allegedly recruited last year in a scheme promising them security training in Russia and ended up involved in the conflict in Ukraine.

Four men caught up in the same scheme had previously been repatriated, while two remained in Russia with “severe injuries,” Lamola said.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, is being investigated by police for alleged involvement in luring those 17 men to Russia. She denied any wrongdoing but resigned as a lawmaker in November over the allegations. She is one of at least five people under investigation for sending the men to Russia, according to South African authorities.

Lamola said the two people who died were not connected to the group allegedly recruited by Zuma-Sambudla, but they were “part of another recruitment drive or another scheme that took them there.”

“The law must take its course,” Lamola said regarding the cases of the 17 men who were allowed to leave the front lines in Ukraine after diplomatic negotiations between South Africa and Russia. “Everyone who is involved in this scheme must be held accountable and there must be consequences.”

Ukraine has said it believes more than 1,700 Africans have been recruited to fight for Russia and several African nations have said some of their citizens have been tricked into fighting for Russia by offers of lucrative jobs or skills training.

An intelligence report presented to parliament in Kenya last week said that 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia after being misled with false promises of jobs in the country before being sent to the front lines.

The Kenyan government said that at least 89 Kenyans were still on the front line in Ukraine, 39 were hospitalized, 28 were missing in action, and others had returned home. It has confirmed one death.

A man in Kenya was arrested and charged on Thursday with trafficking 25 Kenyans to Russia last year in an alleged scheme that duped them into fighting for Russia.

Two Nigerians were killed late last year fighting for Russia, Ukraine's intelligence agency said this month.

The Democratic Alliance political party in South Africa said it had evidence in the form of around 100 WhatsApp messages showing that the South African men allegedly recruited by Zuma-Sambudla were promised “security training” and the chance of gaining Russian or Canadian citizenship.

But their passports and clothing were burned when they arrived in Russia, their cellphones were confiscated, and they were sent to the Donetsk region of Ukraine to fight as part of the Russian forces, the Democratic Alliance said.

Russia's recruitment network has spread to other continents. An Associated Press investigation in January found that workers in Bangladesh were lured to Russia under the false promise of civilian work, only to be thrust into the chaos of combat in Ukraine. Many were threatened with violence, imprisonment or death.

Another AP investigation in 2024 found that African women were also duped into being part of the Russian war effort and sent to work in a factory assembling attack drones to be used against Ukraine. They were lured by social media adverts offering work-study programs.

The Russia-Ukraine war marked its four-year anniversary this week and Russia has been seeking to replenish its forces, partly by recruiting fighters from other countries.

AP coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Crowds of mourners line up for memorial services for Jesse Jackson at his Chicago organization

CHICAGO (AP) — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.

The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.

Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large video screen playing excerpts of Jackson's notable speeches. Inside, Jackson's children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.

“The challenge for us is that we've got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King's dream and Jesse Jackson's mission now falls on our shoulders. We've got to stand up and keep it going.”

Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.

Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.

But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.

Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”

His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.

Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH's agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor's office said Thursday that his participation wasn't yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.

Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.

The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Family members said the services will be open to all. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.

“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”

South Africa says 2 of its nationals died fighting for Russia in Ukraine after recruitment scheme

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South Africa says 2 of its nationals died fighting for Russia in Ukraine after recruitment scheme

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