The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants the South African Police Service (Saps) to investigate uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) Member of Parliament Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s role in the stranding of 17 South Africans in the Donbas area of Ukraine, who were allegedly lured there by members of the MKP.

On Monday, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation confirmed that 17 South Africans remain stranded in the Donbas area after allegedly being lured to fight in the Ukraine-Russia conflict under false pretences.

Earlier this month, media reports indicated that the 17 South Africans, mainly from KwaZulu-Natal, were tricked into believing they were to receive “skills training” in Russia but ended up on the war front with Ukraine.

DA spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans Chris Hattingh and DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation Ryan Smith will on Thursday lay criminal charges against Zuma-Sambudla, at the Cape Town Central Police Station.

The party said new evidence and facts had come to light and it wanted Zuma-Sambudla to be criminally investigated, and if found to have broken the law, to be prosecuted.

“This is a chilling case of the powerful preying on the vulnerable. The promise of a job was a death trap, and an MP stands accused of holding the door open.

“The DA will be filing a criminal case with the Saps to investigate the roles of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, MP and others mentioned in media reports for misleading these young men and sending them into an active war zone. The matter has already been handed over to the Hawks,” said Hattingh.

“The DA fully supports the Hawks investigation, and if the evidence shows that laws were broken – including trafficking, fraud or illegal foreign military activity – then the law must take its course and prosecution must follow,” he added.

Given that Zuma-Sambudla was a sitting Member of Parliament, Hattingh said he would also be writing to the Acting Registrar of Parliament’s Ethics Committee to request an immediate investigation.

“Allegations of this nature, involving an MP, cannot be ignored. If a public representative abused her position to recruit or mislead young South Africans into a foreign conflict, it would be a serious breach of her oath of office and Parliament’s ethical rules. Parliament must treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves,” he highlighted.

The party will also be writing to the Parliamentary committees on Defence and International Relations chairpersons urging that committees be urgently briefed on this concerning matter by the State Security Agency, Defence Intelligence, Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), the Hawks and the Department of Defence.

“We need clarity on how this recruitment network operated inside South Africa, whether warning signs were missed, and what government is doing to bring the men home safely,” said Hattingh.

The party will also be addressing the potential foreign policy implications of the Dirco’s silence on the matter.

On Monday, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation chairperson Supra Mahumapelo expressed confidence in the Saps’ investigation into how these South Africans became stranded in the Donbas.

The committee was pleased the Saps would be formally investigating the matter.