Mangwana
also
confirmed
that
the
number
of
Zimbabweans
killed
in
the
conflict
has
risen
to
18.
“Trafficked
to
be
a
foreign
fighter.
The
number
of
Zimbabweans
killed
in
a
foreign
conflict
is
now
18.
The
State
is
seized
with
the
repatriation
of
only
four
of
those
as
there
are
issues
around
the
documentation
around
the
others,” Mangwana
said
on
X.
His
statement
follows
growing
official
concern
over
what
authorities
have
described
as
a
human
trafficking
syndicate
luring
Zimbabweans
to
enlist
in
foreign
militaries
under
false
pretenses.
In
a
significant
breakthrough,
four
men
accused
of
running
a
recruitment
ring
were
arrested
in
Harare.
The
four
–
Obert
Hlavati,
Tonderai
Maphosa,
Tanaka
Malcolm
Gwarada
and
Edson
Dudzayi
Nyamudeza
appeared
before
Harare
magistrate
Jessi
Kufa
on
human
trafficking
charges
and
were
not
asked
to
plead.
Prosecutor
Oscar
Madhume
alleged
that
from
last
month,
the
four
conspired
with
a
Russian
national
identified
only
as
Ivan
to
traffic
six
Zimbabweans
to
Russia.
Reports
from
Harare
indicated
the
victims
were
recruited
through
social
media
platforms
including
Facebook,
Telegram
and
WhatsApp,
were
they
were
told
they
would
work
as
firefighters
with
lucrative
salaries
and
favourable
conditions.
Ivan
referred
victims
to
Gwarada,
a
local
agent
and
InDrive
taxi
driver,
who
completed
the
recruitment
process.
Gwarada
allegedly
received
US$8,167
at
various
intervals
through
Ecocash
and
a
Bureau
de
Change
at
5
Londonderry
in
Eastlea,
Harare.
He
then
placed
the
victims
in
hotels,
lodges
and
safe
houses
in
the
Harare
central
business
district
while
they
awaited
completion
of
the
recruitment
process.
Gwarada
reportedly
handed
over
the
money
to
Maphosa,
who
arranged
food
and
accommodation.
Hlavati
was
tasked
with
making
sure
the
men
obtained
travel
documents
and
medical
reports.
Nyamudeza,
an
airport
official,
allegedly
helped
the
victims
pass
through
Robert
Mugabe
International
Airport
without
difficulty.
Upon
arrival
in
Russia,
the
men
were
received
by
Ivan,
who
confiscated
their
travel
documents.
Instead
of
working
as
firefighters,
they
were
drafted
into
fighting
in
the
Russia-Ukraine
war.
The
victims
alerted
relatives
in
Zimbabwe,
who
then
contacted
police
and
the
Department
of
Social
Welfare
is
now
making
efforts
to
fly
the
men
back
home.
Last
week,
authorities
received
information
that
the
quartet
had
recruited
four
more
men
who
were
due
to
travel
to
Russia.
Detectives
intercepted
the
victims
at
Robert
Mugabe
International
Airport,
leading
to
the
arrests.
The
arrests
came
after
CITE’s
investigative
journalism
unit,
exposed
the
recruitment
of
Zimbabwean
civilians
to
fight
for
Russia,
a
story
that
prompted
official
acknowledgment
from
the
government.
Presidential
spokesperson,
George
Charamba,
publicly
acknowledged
CITE’s
role
and
expressed
gratitude
to
the
media
house
for
bringing
the
matter
to
light,
saying
the
organisation
had
“broken
this
story
after
painstaking
investigative
journalism”.
This
was
after
Information
Minister
Soda
Zhemu
had
confirmed
that
15
Zimbabweans
had
died
in
the
conflict
at
the
time,
marking
the
first
official
statement
on
the
scale
of
local
involvement.
The
minister
added
that
66
others
who
were
recruited
are
still
alive,
with
authorities
working
to
facilitate
their
return.
“The
president
has
directed
this
government
to
act
with
urgency
and
resolve
this
issue,”
Zhemu
said.
He
described
the
repatriation
of
remains
as
diplomatically
and
logistically
complex
but
said
efforts
were
underway.
Zhemu
added
that
the
security
cluster
had
been
instructed
to
intensify
investigations
into
the
trafficking
syndicate.
“Those
who
are
trading
in
the
lives
of
our
citizens
for
profit
will
face
the
full
wrath
of
the
law,”
he
said.
The
government
has
since
warned
Zimbabweans
against
enlisting
in
foreign
militaries,
describing
emerging
reports
of
citizens
recruited
to
fight
abroad
as
a
form
of
human
trafficking.
Authorities
say
they
remain
concerned
about
the
safety
of
Zimbabweans
who
may
be
lured
into
conflicts
under
misleading
circumstances.