South Africa arrests nine Zimbabweans allegedly trying to leave to fight in the Ukraine war — all nine have appeared in court
South African police arrested nine foreign nationals on Sunday night — five at OR Tambo International Airport and four at a hotel in Bruma, Johannesburg — alleging they were preparing to board flights out of the country to fight in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Police did not name their nationalities or say which side they allegedly meant to join. In court on Monday, prosecutors named the nine as Zimbabweans and charged them under the law that bans mercenary activity without government permission. All nine remain in custody. The allegation against them has not been tested in court.
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Key points
- Nine foreign nationals were arrested on Sunday night — five at OR Tambo airport and four at a Bruma hotel — by a team including the Hawks and Interpol.
- Police allege they meant to travel to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war; police have not said which side, or who arranged the travel.
- Prosecutors named the nine as Zimbabweans in court on Monday and charged them under the foreign military assistance law; all remain in custody.
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- The allegation has not been tested in court, and no pleas have been reported.
What happened
South Africa's Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act bans taking part in a foreign war, or recruiting others for one, without government permission, and police say it applies to foreign nationals inside the country as well as citizens.
Recruiters have drawn men from across Africa into Russia's war in Ukraine with promises of work or training. South Africa has separately been dealing with the case of 17 of its own citizens who, Pretoria says, were lured into fighting alongside Russian forces in the Donbas.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That nine foreign nationals were arrested on Sunday night at OR Tambo airport and a Bruma hotel, on the police statement carried by the BBC and the Associated Press.
- That prosecutors named the nine as Zimbabweans in court on Monday, charged them under the foreign military assistance law, and that all nine remain in custody.
What we don't know yet
- Which side the nine allegedly meant to join, their final destination, and who allegedly arranged their travel — police have not said.
- The ages in the reports do not line up: police accounts put the group at 20 to 26 in one statement and at 20 to 39 in the Hawks statement reported by the BBC, while court reporting lists the men's ages individually from 23 to 46.
- How the nine answer the charge — their cases return to court on Tuesday and Thursday for legal representation.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: The operation, the two arrest locations and Mogale's account are reported in the same terms by the BBC and the Associated Press, both citing the police statement.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The intention is the police and prosecutors' allegation, not a finding: it has not been tested in court, and the men have not been reported entering pleas. What police have not said is stated plainly here, from the BBC's report of the police statement; the flights-to-Russia detail is the Associated Press's reporting.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: The names, the two courts, the charge and the postponements are from TimesLIVE's court reporting, quoting the NPA spokesperson. At the arrest announcement police declined to give nationalities and said none of the nine lived in South Africa.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Zimbabwe's March figures and its information minister's account are reported by the Associated Press. They describe earlier recruitment cases, not these nine men, whose own route into the alleged plan is not yet established.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
This is the recruitment pipeline being stopped at the airport: nine men, an international police operation, and a charge sheet that now has to prove in court what police say the men intended. Until then, the central questions — who sent them, and to fight for whom — are unanswered.
Background
Zimbabwe says 15 of its citizens have been killed in the Ukraine war and seeks the return of 66 others, saying recruits were promised well-paid jobs and then forced into combat.
A multidisciplinary team including the Hawks and Interpol arrests nine foreign nationals at OR Tambo airport and a Bruma hotel.
The nine appear in two Gauteng courts, are named as Zimbabweans, and are charged under the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
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Ages note widened: the BBC's report of the Hawks statement gives the nine as aged 20 to 39, a third range alongside the police figure of 20 to 26 and the court listing of 23 to 46. The three have not been reconciled.
Published in Checking state — the arrests and the court charges are confirmed, and what the nine are alleged to have intended, and who allegedly arranged it, are still to be established in court.