By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: NYT.
The Department of International Relations and Corporation (DIRCO) confirmed two South Africans who were recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war have died.
Ronald Lamola, DIRCO minister made the announcement during a media briefing in Durban.
Lamola said they were not linked to the 17 men belonging to the MK Party, but another group. It’s part of another recruitment drive or another scheme that took them there.”
“There are other South Africans that we have since discovered were part of the process, and… we have since discovered that some have also died,” Lamola said.
He said, Ministry is deeply concerned by the “suspicious circumstances” and predatory recruitment tactics used to lure citizens into danger.
“If a job offer abroad sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” the Minister cautioned.
South Africans are urged to exercise extreme due diligence when pursuing international employment, particularly those involving “security,” “logistics,” or “technical support” in high-risk regions.
The minister said the government’s immediate focus is now on facilitating their return to South Africa, where legal processes will follow.
“What we are now dealing with is their return, and that as and when they arrive in South Africa, the law must take its course,” Lamola said. He acknowledged that some individuals may attempt to avoid accountability upon their return.
Lamola has formally met with the families of the South African men recently repatriated after being caught in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Eleven men landed back in South Africa on Wednesday, part of a group of 17 who requested help from government after they were trapped for months in the epicentre of the fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Four arrived back home last week, while two remained in Russia to receive medical treatment for “very severe” injuries, Lamola said.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who resigned from parliament recently, is accused of being involved in recruitment of the men.
“The 17 that were recruited through the processes that involved the MK party… are all back, except those that could not travel due to medical reasons,” Lamola said.
“Whoever was responsible to recruit these young people into this ordeal must be held accountable,” he said.
South African law prohibits its citizens from fighting for a foreign country’s army without government authorisation.
Ukraine said on Wednesday that more than 1,780 citizens from 36 African countries had been identified among Russia’s ranks, and that some of them had been captured.