SA men tell of betrayal after being 'trafficked' to Ukraine war

Desperate pleas emerge from families of the trapped recruits

- THAMI MAGUBANE

AS THE political controversy about the 17 South African men trapped in the Ukraine conflict deepens, more harrowing accounts about their ordeal in Eastern Europe's war have started to emerge.

A parent of one of the 17 men told The Mercury that she has not been able to sleep for weeks, while two men stranded in Ukraine spoke about their ordeal and their desire to return to their families. The mother said it came as a shock to her that her son was in a war zone.

The matter of these men has pitted former President Jacob Zuma's children against one another. Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma Mncube has opened a criminal case against her sister Duduzile Zuma, Siphokazi Xuma, and Blessing Khoza, identifying them as central in the trafficking of these men to Russia under false pretences.

In a telephonic interview, the mother said: "For the last two weeks, I have not had a wink of sleep. I did not know the conditions he was facing until two weeks ago when another parent called to inform me of what was really happening."

She asked that her name and that of her son be witheld in order to protect him.