In brief
Nonkululeko Patricia Mantula, a prominent radio presenter for the South African Broadcasting Corporation, has been charged in connection with the alleged recruitment of South Africans for the Russian military. Five individuals, including Mantula, were arrested while attempting to travel to Russia. This follows concerns about South Africans being lured into military service during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
A radio presenter with South Africa's public broadcaster has appeared in court on a charge related to the alleged recruitment of men for the Russian military.
Nonkululeko Patricia Mantula is among five people who prosecutors say are facing charges for contravening a law which prohibits South Africans from joining a foreign army without official permission. They have not yet been asked to plead.
The arrests are the first since the South African government said in November that 17 citizens had seemingly been lured to join mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Police told the BBC that at this stage, they are not linking the two cases.
Mantula, 39, is a presenter of The Morning Bliss, a show on the SABC's SAFM radio station. Neither she nor SABC has commented on her arrest.
Her arrest, along with four others, follows the dramatic resignation from parliament last Friday of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma, who has been accused of duping the 17 South African men - including some of her relatives - into fighting for Russia, an allegation she denies.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that Mantula had been arrested with four men, aged between 21 and 46. They each face a charge of contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.
The NPA said the arrests followed a tip-off from police at South Africa's main international airport in Johannesburg. They were intercepted as they attempted to travel to Russia via the United Arab Emirates, and were removed from the boarding gate after being deemed suspicious.
The NPA said it was further alleged that Mantula had been facilitating the travel and recruitment of her co-accused into the Russian Federation military.
The accused are due to make their next court appearance on 8 December for a bail application.
In November, South Africa's government said it had received distress calls from 17 citizens who were trapped in Ukraine's war-torn Donbas region after joining mercenary forces. It added that it was working through diplomatic channels to bring them back, but this has not yet happened.
The men were lured to join the mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative contracts, the government said, adding that it condemned the exploitation of young vulnerable people by individuals working with foreign military entities.
South Africa has an unemployment rate of more than 30%, which is even higher among young people.
