Overview
- AFP journalists witnessed 11 men land in South Africa on Wednesday, including one in a wheelchair, bringing homecomings to 15 of the original 17.
- Two South Africans remain in Russia, with one hospitalized in Moscow and the other being processed for travel as the embassy monitors their cases.
- The returns followed a Feb. 10 call in which Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Vladimir Putin pledged support for repatriation, according to the South African presidency.
- Police questioned the first four returnees on arrival and released them, while probes continue into how the men were recruited under false pretenses.
- At least three suspects are under investigation, including Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who denies wrongdoing, as officials cite wider patterns of Africans lured by bogus job or training offers to fight for Russia.