Duduzile Zuma, a Member of Parliament in South Africa and daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, has resigned amidst a high-profile investigation into the possible recruitment of South African and Botswanan citizens to participate in Russia's war against Ukraine. This is reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
The scandal gained public attention after Bloomberg reported that a group of young men, with whom Zuma had contact, traveled to Russia in July, allegedly for security guard training, but ended up on the front lines.
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According to relatives, the men were forced to sign contracts in Russian, and in August, they stopped making contact. The uMkhonto weSizwe party announced that Duduzile Zuma would "fully cooperate with the police investigation," while she categorically denies involvement in any recruitment activities. The party also stated that it has no connection to Russia's war against Ukraine.
We respect the process conducted by the authorities
Meanwhile, the police confirmed that another daughter of the ex-president, Nkosazana Zuma-Ncube, filed a complaint with law enforcement against her half-sister and two individuals on charges of "luring men to Russia under false pretenses."
The scandal erupted after President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered an investigation into how South Africans could have been recruited as mercenaries for Russian military operations. Currently, 17 citizens of the country, stranded in the occupied part of Donbas, have appealed to the South African government; among them are also two Botswanan citizens.
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This is not the first time Zuma has been at the center of Russia-related scandals: she previously publicly spread pro-Russian messages on social media. In addition, she is facing trial on charges of treason – in a case of inciting violence during the 2021 riots, which killed about 350 people.
Addition
Jacob Zuma served as President of the Republic of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. His presidency was marked by a series of corruption scandals. In 2018, he was forced to resign after his party, the African National Congress, withdrew its support.