Five suspects, including a well known media personality, are expected to make their first appearance before the Kempton magistrate court after being accused of facilitating military recruitment for Russia. Four of the suspects were arrested on Friday, November 28, while the fifth was taken into custody on Sunday. A large presence of journalists gathered outside the court as reporters waited for proceedings to begin.
According to the Hawks, the arrests followed a tip off from the OR Tambo South African Police Service about four men who were travelling to Russia through the United Arab Emirates. Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said in a statement that the men were removed from the boarding gate after raising suspicion and were referred to the Hawks Crimes Against the State unit for further scrutiny.
Mogale said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that a South African female had been facilitating the travel and recruitment of these individuals into the Russian Federation Military.” She added that investigators secured a search and seizure warrant targeting another suspect believed to have assisted not only the four men but also a fifth person who had already travelled to Russia.
She explained that “upon the individual’s arrival at OR Tambo International Airport on twenty seven November twenty twenty five, the individual was interviewed, during which further evidence was uncovered. Electronic gadgets and two backpacks were seized for further investigation.”
The arrests come at a time when seventeen other South Africans are reported to be stranded in the Russia Ukraine conflict zone, allegedly having been recruited by various individuals, including former uMkhonto we Sizwe member of parliament Duduzile Zuma Sambudla.
