Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, has resigned from her seat in parliament. Her party, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), announced the resignation on Friday.
The resignation follows police investigations into allegations that she recruited 17 South African men to fight for Russian forces in the war in Ukraine. It is claimed the men were lured to Russia under false promises of lucrative jobs, without knowing they would be involved in the conflict.
The MK party stated that Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation is not an admission of guilt. A party official said the party itself is not involved in the matter concerning the men in Russia.
The allegations were initially made by one of Zuma-Sambudla’s half-sisters, who filed a formal request for a police investigation. The case has been handed to a special unit that deals with crimes against the state.
Zuma-Sambudla is also facing separate charges for allegedly inciting riots in 2021 that resulted in over 350 deaths. She has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
