Nine Zimbabwean nationals have been arrested in South Africa over an alleged plan to leave the country to take part in the war between Russia and Ukraine, police have said. Five of the group were stopped at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, while four others were arrested at a hotel in Bruma, east of the city.

The arrests were made on Sunday evening, 8 November 2026, during an intelligence-led operation involving the Hawks, Interpol, South African Crime Intelligence and international law enforcement partners. Police said the group was allegedly preparing to board flights out of the country, but their final destination has not been disclosed.

The nine have been charged with contravening South Africa's Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act 15 of 1998, which outlaws mercenary activity and foreign military service without government permission. They appeared in two separate courts in Gauteng on Monday 9 November and have not yet pleaded to the charges. All nine remain in custody.

Five due back in court in Kempton Park today

Five of the accused appeared before the Kempton Park Magistrates' Court after their arrest at the airport. Prosecutors named them as Weight Mudhanyane, 23, Javangwe Munyaradzi, 41, Wesley Sothole, 24, Abel Muchenje, 40, and Knowledge Ndunduma, 46. Their case was postponed to Tuesday 10 November so they can secure legal representation.

The other four, Bobo Chinhondo, 43, Batsirai Shereni, 24, Liberty Shereni, 44, and Niobe Zhou, 37, appeared before the Johannesburg Magistrates' Court after being arrested at the Bruma hotel. Their matter was postponed to Thursday 12 November for the same reason.

Police initially described the group as aged between 20 and 26, while the prosecutors' court lists gave individual ages ranging from 23 to 46. Authorities have not said which side the group allegedly intended to join, nor have they identified any organisation said to have recruited them or arranged their travel.

Part of a wider pattern of African recruitment

The Hawks said the operation followed an integrated, multidisciplinary investigation involving Interpol, the Hawks' Crimes Against the State and Serious Organised Crime unit in Germiston, SAPS Crime Intelligence, the Modus Operandi Centre, the Gauteng Provincial Tracking Team and private security companies. Police said the involvement of Interpol and other international agencies indicated the suspects had also allegedly broken laws in their home countries.

South African police said none of the nine lived in South Africa. The case comes against a background of continued concern about African nationals being recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian intelligence estimated earlier this year that more than 1,700 people from 36 African countries had been recruited to fight for Russia.

South Africa is also investigating a separate case in which 17 South African men say they were lured to Russia with promises of security work and then sent to fight in Ukraine's Donbas region. President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into how those men were recruited. The allegations against the nine Zimbabweans have not been tested in court, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The Associated Press reported the arrests on Monday, and African Times reported the court dates and the names from the prosecutors' lists.