Nine foreign nationals were arrested in Johannesburg on Sunday evening over an alleged plan to travel from South Africa to fight in the Russia Ukraine war, police said.
The suspects are aged between 20 and 26. Police said they were caught at OR Tambo International Airport and at a hotel in Bruma, east of Johannesburg.
“The suspects were allegedly preparing to board flights out of the country when they were apprehended,” the SA Police Service said in a statement on X.
The group is expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court. Police said they would face charges under the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act of 1998.
South African law bans mercenary activity unless the government gives permission.
The arrests followed a joint investigation. It involved Interpol, the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State and Serious Organised Crime unit in Germiston, and SAPS Crime Intelligence.
Other teams that took part were the Modus Operandi Centre, the Gauteng Provincial Tracking Team, international law enforcement agencies and several security companies, police said.
According to the police statement, the involvement of Interpol shows the suspects allegedly broke laws in their home countries too. That led those countries to work with South African authorities.
Brigadier Paulina Sekgobela, acting provincial head of the Hawks in Gauteng, praised the team for its work in the operation.
Authorities did not say which countries the nine come from. They confirmed that none of them lives in South Africa.
Police also did not say whether the group planned to fight for Russia or for Ukraine. No details were given about any groups that may have helped arrange their travel. Their final destination is also unclear.
People from several African countries, including Kenya, Ghana and South Africa, have gone to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Some said they were tricked and did not know where they were going.
A Ukrainian intelligence assessment earlier this year estimated that more than 1,700 people from 36 African countries had been recruited to fight for Russia.
Kenya estimated at the time that 252 of its citizens had been illegally conscripted in Russia. In March, Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi visited Moscow about the issue. He said an agreement was reached to stop recruiting Kenyans.
In February, Ghana said 55 of its citizens had been killed in the war. It said 272 Ghanaians were believed to have been lured to fight since the war began in 2022.
In the same month, South Africa secured the return of 17 South Africans who were allegedly tricked into joining the war.
In December 2025, South African authorities arrested five people, including a journalist, for allegedly recruiting people to join the war. Ukraine has also recruited foreign nationals, including Africans.
The nine suspects were expected to appear in court on Monday or Tuesday.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Club of Mozambique. Image: Club of Mozambique. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.