The Zimbabwean government is working to repatriate four Zimbabweans who were fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, while documentation challenges have stalled efforts to bring back others, government spokesperson Nick Mangwana has said.
Mangwana also confirmed that the number of Zimbabweans killed in the conflict has risen to 18.
“Trafficked to be a foreign fighter. The number of Zimbabweans killed in a foreign conflict is now 18. The State is seized with the repatriation of only four of those as there are issues around the documentation around the others,” Mangwana said on X.
His statement follows growing official concern over what authorities have described as a human trafficking syndicate luring Zimbabweans to enlist in foreign militaries under false pretenses.
In a significant breakthrough, four men accused of running a recruitment ring were arrested in Harare.
The four – Obert Hlavati, Tonderai Maphosa, Tanaka Malcolm Gwarada and Edson Dudzayi Nyamudeza appeared before Harare magistrate Jessi Kufa on human trafficking charges and were not asked to plead.
Prosecutor Oscar Madhume alleged that from last month, the four conspired with a Russian national identified only as Ivan to traffic six Zimbabweans to Russia.
Reports from Harare indicated the victims were recruited through social media platforms including Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp, were they were told they would work as firefighters with lucrative salaries and favourable conditions.
Ivan referred victims to Gwarada, a local agent and InDrive taxi driver, who completed the recruitment process. Gwarada allegedly received US$8,167 at various intervals through Ecocash and a Bureau de Change at 5 Londonderry in Eastlea, Harare.
He then placed the victims in hotels, lodges and safe houses in the Harare central business district while they awaited completion of the recruitment process.
Gwarada reportedly handed over the money to Maphosa, who arranged food and accommodation.
Hlavati was tasked with making sure the men obtained travel documents and medical reports.
Nyamudeza, an airport official, allegedly helped the victims pass through Robert Mugabe International Airport without difficulty.
Upon arrival in Russia, the men were received by Ivan, who confiscated their travel documents. Instead of working as firefighters, they were drafted into fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The victims alerted relatives in Zimbabwe, who then contacted police and the Department of Social Welfare is now making efforts to fly the men back home.
Last week, authorities received information that the quartet had recruited four more men who were due to travel to Russia.
Detectives intercepted the victims at Robert Mugabe International Airport, leading to the arrests.
The arrests came after CITE’s investigative journalism unit, exposed the recruitment of Zimbabwean civilians to fight for Russia, a story that prompted official acknowledgment from the government.
Read the investigation here: https://cite.org.zw/zimbabweans-lured-to-russias-war-inside-the-deceptive-recruitment-network-drawing-civilians-to-the-frontlines/
Presidential spokesperson, George Charamba, publicly acknowledged CITE’s role and expressed gratitude to the media house for bringing the matter to light, saying the organisation had “broken this story after painstaking investigative journalism”.
This was after Information Minister Soda Zhemu had confirmed that 15 Zimbabweans had died in the conflict at the time, marking the first official statement on the scale of local involvement.
The minister added that 66 others who were recruited are still alive, with authorities working to facilitate their return.
“The president has directed this government to act with urgency and resolve this issue,” Zhemu said.
He described the repatriation of remains as diplomatically and logistically complex but said efforts were underway. Zhemu added that the security cluster had been instructed to intensify investigations into the trafficking syndicate.
“Those who are trading in the lives of our citizens for profit will face the full wrath of the law,” he said.
The government has since warned Zimbabweans against enlisting in foreign militaries, describing emerging reports of citizens recruited to fight abroad as a form of human trafficking.
Authorities say they remain concerned about the safety of Zimbabweans who may be lured into conflicts under misleading circumstances.