South Africa Arrests Nine Zimbabweans Suspected of Heading to Fight in the Russia-Ukraine War

South African authorities have arrested nine Zimbabwean men suspected of trying to travel to join the war between Russia and Ukraine, and charged them under the country’s law against unauthorized foreign military service. Five were arrested at O.R. Tambo International Airport and four at a hotel in Bruma, Johannesburg, on the night of Sunday, Nov. 8, by a team that included the Hawks priority crimes unit and Interpol, according to the BBC and The Citizen.

The men face charges under the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act of 1998, which bars South African citizens and residents from taking part in foreign conflicts without government approval. They appeared on Monday, Nov. 9, in two courts. One group appeared in Kempton Park, where the case was postponed to Nov. 10, and the other in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, where it was postponed to Nov. 12. All remain in custody, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole.

What police and reporters know so far

Al Jazeera reported that police said the men were preparing to board flights to Russia. The BBC said it was not clear which side they intended to join or where exactly they were going. Details of the accused also differ between accounts: police initially described the men as aged 20 to 26, while the court roll reported by The Citizen lists ages between 23 and 46. The Boston Report is not naming the accused, who have not entered pleas.

Investigators have not publicly said who arranged the men’s travel or whether they were recruited in South Africa or Zimbabwe. In December last year, five people were arrested in South Africa on suspicion of recruiting for the war, according to the BBC.

Africa’s recruits in Russia’s war

The arrests add to growing evidence that Russia’s forces have drawn fighters from across Africa, often through job offers that turn out to be military contracts. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said in February that more than 1,700 people from 36 African countries were fighting for Russia. Kenya’s government has estimated that 252 of its citizens went. Zimbabwe said in March that 15 of its nationals had been killed and more than 60 were trapped. These figures come from governments and have not been independently verified.

South Africa has itself been pulled in. The government secured the return of a group of citizens who said they had been lured to Russia; the BBC put the number at 17 and Al Jazeera at 11. Amnesty International said last September that the recruitment of Africans for the war amounted to human trafficking in many cases.

For the state of the fighting and the diplomatic track, see our war in Ukraine tracker and our report on the Abu Dhabi talks on security guarantees.

A political test at home

The case lands in a sensitive week for South African politics, days after local elections that gave the ANC its worst result. Pretoria has tried to keep a nonaligned stance on the war, and a high-profile prosecution of men allegedly heading to Russian lines will be watched in both Moscow and Kyiv.

What comes next

The next hearings, on Nov. 10 in Kempton Park and Nov. 12 in Johannesburg, should clarify the charges and whether bail will be opposed. Key questions are who paid for the tickets, whether a recruiter is identified, and whether Zimbabwe’s government seeks to have its citizens returned. Prosecutions under the 1998 act have been rare, so the case could set a marker for how South Africa handles future attempts to recruit through its main airport.

Sources

• BBC News: South Africa arrests nine suspected of trying to join Russia-Ukraine war
• Al Jazeera: South Africa detains foreigners suspected of heading to join Russian forces
• The Citizen: Nine Zimbabweans in court over plan to join Russia-Ukraine war