A family’s worst fear
Mbongeni Mguni - Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday May 4, 2026 10:39
In the pictures and videos he shared with his family, Kabo Ntesang appeared to be having fun. In one, he sips on a cup of coffee while walking in the snow outside a building that appears to be an airport. In another, he plays with snowballs.
“Welcome to Moscow wena sbhuda,” he says with a laugh in one of the videos.
The clip is from November and forms part of the final WhatsApp messages or statuses the Ntesangs shared or saw from their son before all communication was cut off.
Even prior to that, however, Kabo’s uncle, 53-year-old Ompatile Ntesang, had noted some troubling signs.
“We were talking to him via voice notes on WhatsApp, but we could not talk to him directly and hear his voice,” Ntesang told Mmegi.
“He said that if we kept asking him questions and telling people, he would block us.
“He didn’t tell us where he was in the pictures when we saw him in camouflage and carrying weapons.”
Kabo is amongst thousands of Africans reportedly recruited, both by deception and willingly, to the frontlines of the war between Russia and Ukraine last year. NGOs estimate that between 1,400 and 1,800 Africans have been recruited by Russia government or government-aligned entities to fight for the country in its war against Ukraine.
Some studies estimate that one in five Africans has died in the conflict, with allegations that many of these recruits are pushed to the hotspots of the battle zone to “clear the lines” even with their lives, while actual soldiers hang back tactically.
Mmegi has seen evidence of military recruitment on social media, with promises of once-off “sign-up” bonuses of $23,000 (P311,000). Many of the recruits who have made it back claim they were forced to sign contracts written in Russian that they could not understand, then given basic military training and handed weapons before being deployed to hot zones.
Other reports suggest that, rather than being innocent and duped, some recruits left in full knowledge of the situation on the ground, enticed by the thousands of US dollars being offered.
While many of the recruits came from countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe and some from South Africa, Mmegi investigations show that at least four came from Botswana.
One of these was Kabo, who left the country abruptly in November 2025 without informing his uncle, with whom he had been living until just before his departure.
“I used to live with him in Block 7, and in November, when he was working at the time, we had a discussion that he could afford to move out,” Ntesang said.
“He later got in touch to say he had left a bag in a vehicle while on his way to the airport. When I contacted that person and found the bag, it had his clothes.
“The following day (November 16), we could not reach him, and when he contacted us, he said he was in Russia, and he’s going to the war.
“On November 22, I reported to Interpol and the police.”
According to Ntesang, his nephew was highly secretive about how he had made his way to Russia. Documents shared by the family show that Kabo departed from Gaborone on November 18 on a South African Airways flight to O.R Tambo in Johannesburg. Another ticket shows Kabo on board a flight to St Petersburg, Russia, on November 22.
A return ticket via South African Airways was issued for December 12 from O.R. Tambo to Gaborone, but by then, he was missing in action in Russia.
Another document shows a temporary Russian visa to run from November 20, 2025, to February 17, 2026. The duration of the visa suggests that it went beyond the 30-day free visa applicable to Botswana and would have attracted a fee of between $150–$300 for urgent processing (P2,000 to P4,000). From the time Kabo left, he maintained secrecy about how he was approached, where he was and what he was doing. On December 12, he stopped communicating with his family.
Ntesang recounts the family running to and from between Interpol, the police, the tribal authority, the International Relations ministry, and embassies for assistance after Kabo disappeared.
“I told Interpol and the police that we only found out about Russia after he had left and that we did not know how he had left.
“I went to the Ukrainian Embassy and met the Ambassador. I also reported at the Russian embassy, but there was no feedback or information that could help.
“They said because they were in a war, it was difficult to get information, and they did not know how he got the visa or anything else.”
The family’s hunt for answers spiralled into a panic when another Motswana who had allegedly been recruited by Kabo returned home in December after apparently escaping from the war front. The young man hit national headlines recently when he shared his experience with local media. “That one, when he got there, he saw that he could not stay and found a way to get back home,” Ntesang.
“He got hold of Kabo’s mother’s phone number, and when they spoke, he said he had not seen Kabo in Russia.
“He said he did not think that Kabo was still alive.
“That’s the one that ran the alarm. Before, we had been reporting to the police in case something had happened, but when the other man came back, that’s when the alarm rang.”
The Ntesang family also informed the local area councillor and Member of Parliament that, in their search for answers, they had found none to date.
In February, the International Relations ministry released a statement saying diplomatic engagements on Batswana being recruited to Russia had begun in December.
The Minister, Phenyo Butale, held discussions with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, in Egypt on the matter. At the same time, reports emerged that at least 17 South African men had been recruited to the war front through a network allegedly run by former President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.
South African media reported that three Batswana were part of the 17 allegedly recruited through Zuma-Sambudla, a number that possibly included Kabo.
The former president’s daughter has since resigned from the South African Parliament as a result of the allegations and could reportedly face human trafficking charges.
Her father, meanwhile, distributed a letter he wrote to Russian officials requesting their assistance in returning the recruits.
In late February, 11 of the 17 South Africans returned home. Batswana were not on the flight, according to media reports.
These days, the Ntesang family spends much of its time reaching out to authorities for answers, but none have been forthcoming.
Worse still, a recent development has the family worried for the worst.
“Last week, the authorities said they want to do counselling for the affected families, and I asked what they want to counsel us on.
“We don’t know whether our child is alive or not.
“They said we must write to them if we want that counselling.”
Ntesang urges other families and parents to be wary of recruitment campaigns and promises made on social media.
“They must know there’s no such thing as greener pastures,” he told Mmegi.
“I told the MP that this issue must be reported on widely, as it’s a scam.
“From my investigations, it looks like there’s someone here who has to be working with those in Russia in this recruitment.
“It shows that there’s some middleman in Botswana.”