A 48-year-old Hwange man has appeared in court accused of trafficking five Zimbabweans to Russia under the guise of lucrative firefighting jobs, only to allegedly force them to fight as mercenaries on the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Oscar Sifelani Mtshiya appeared before Harare magistrate Jesse Kufa on Friday facing five counts of trafficking in persons and one count of operating an unregistered employment agency.
According to the prosecution, one of the five victims is reported to have died during the conflict, while the remaining four are stranded in Russia awaiting repatriation.
Mtshiya was remanded in custody pending a bail ruling on July 8, 2026.
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The arrest comes months after CITE exposed a recruitment network luring economically vulnerable Zimbabweans and other Africans to Russia with promises of well-paying civilian jobs, only for many to end up fighting in the conflict against Ukraine.
Court papers allege that between January and June this year, Mtshiya worked with four Russian accomplices to recruit five Zimbabwean men, whose identities have been withheld, by promising them lucrative jobs as firefighters or employment with the Russian Defence Ministry.
Upon arrival in Russia, however, prosecutors say the promised jobs never existed.
Instead, the victims allegedly had their passports and travel documents confiscated before they were forced to join a private military organisation and deployed to fight in the war against Ukraine.
The State alleges Mtshiya was part of a cross-border trafficking syndicate involving Russian nationals identified in court documents as Victor, Denis and two other accomplices who remain at large.
Investigators say the group targeted Zimbabweans seeking employment opportunities abroad by promising attractive salaries and favourable working conditions.
Court papers allege Mtshiya coordinated the local recruitment while his Russian counterparts processed visas and air tickets for the recruits.
Prosecutors say Mtshiya distributed the travel documents to the victims and received money from his alleged accomplices through an EcoCash agent, (name supplied) which was then used to cover the victims’ transport expenses to Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare and Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo.
The State further alleges Mtshiya received payment for every recruit through his EcoCash account.
Electronic flight tickets and hotel booking reservations allegedly linked to the victims were recovered from his possession following his arrest in Harare on Thursday by detectives from the CID Counter Terrorism Unit.
The court heard the recruits were denied freedom of movement but subjected to seven days of firearms training and subsequently deployed to fight in the war against Ukraine.
Prosecutors allege the victims were subjected to labour exploitation and forced military service.
The alleged ordeal only came to light after the surviving victims contacted relatives in Zimbabwe, who reported the matter to police.
Authorities say one of the recruits was killed during the conflict, while the deceased’s spouse is working with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the repatriation of the body.
The Department of Social Welfare, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is also assisting efforts to bring the surviving victims back home.
Mtshiya is charged with contravening Section 3(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Trafficking in Persons Act, which criminalises recruiting, transporting or harbouring persons while knowing they are likely to be trafficked, as well as conspiracy to commit trafficking.
He also faces a charge under Section 114(1)(a) of the Labour Act for allegedly operating an employment agency without the required registration.
Mtshiya’s arrest comes just days after another Zimbabwean, Edward Kachingwe (36), appeared before the same court facing charges of trafficking in persons and operating an unregistered employment agency over allegations that he recruited young Zimbabweans to fight for the Russian army.
Kachingwe was also not asked to plead.
Read: https://cite.org.zw/zim-arrested-over-alleged-recruitment-of-men-to-fight-for-russian-army/
The two arrests suggest authorities are widening investigations into this cross-border recruitment network targeting vulnerable Zimbabweans with false promises of employment before allegedly trafficking them into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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