Govt urged to tighten screws on human trafficking

The government has been urged to urgently investigate and act against the alleged recruitment and exploitation of young African women, including Zimbabweans, at Russia's Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) - a high-security industrial complex reportedly linked to drone production and military logistics.

Fresh investigations have revealed that Alabuga's so-called "student recruitment" drive, branded Alabuga Start, is part of a growing network targeting young women from South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and several other African countries through misleading "education and entrepreneurship" offers circulated on social media.

Analysts and activists have called on Zimbabwean authorities to adopt a proactive, coordinated response to what they describe as "organised transnational trafficking" disguised as overseas training.

Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) president Linda Masarira warned that the pattern mirrored classic human trafficking tactics.

"Exploiting and trafficking young African women into Russia's Alabuga SEZ, now openly tied to drone production, demands an immediate, whole-of-government response," Masarira said.

"Zimbabwe must treat this as organised transnational trafficking, not overseas jobs.

We need a rapid repatriation and survivor-support programme — including legal aid, counselling and medical care — and guarantee non-prosecution of victims."

Masarira also urged authorities to tighten exit controls for minors and students, license and audit all foreign recruiters in real time, and collaborate with regional partners.

"Align enforcement with our Trafficking in Persons Act and the Palermo Protocol," she said.

"Work with the African Union and SADC to mount a joint task force, because this problem is regional in scale. Anything less signals impunity for those profiting from our daughters' vulnerability."

Human rights advocate Effie Ncube linked the crisis to deepening poverty and inequality across Africa, which he said made young people particularly vulnerable to deception.

"It's not surprising that some people are being dragged into the Russia-Ukraine conflict from Africa," he said.

"This should concern every government on the continent. We must mobilise regionally — through the African Union and other blocs — to prevent trafficking and impose severe penalties as deterrents."

Bulawayo-based gender activist Thando Gwiji said economic desperation was pushing young women into dangerous situations.

"Until poverty is fixed, young people will volunteer to be enslaved and fed rather than be free and hungry," Gwiji said.

"Addressing this requires funding women's rights programmes and supporting youth-led development initiatives.

At a time when we are promoting Education 5.0, we must integrate gender-sensitive digital education and digital safety for out-of-school youth, especially young women."

Academic Mehluli Nyathi described the Alabuga recruitment scheme as "economic coercion disguised as education."

"This is not soft diplomacy — it's economic coercion," he said.

"African governments are being drawn into military-industrial arrangements under the guise of student training."

The controversy intensified after Bloomberg reported in August that South Africa had launched a formal probe into Alabuga Start's recruitment activities.

Within days, South Africa's Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster confirmed investigations were underway, and social-media influencers such as Cyan Boujee and Peachy Sprinkles, who had promoted Alabuga Start, deleted their posts and issued public apologies.

A spokesperson for South Africa's Ministry of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities confirmed that police were probing payments — reportedly up to US$12 000 per post — made to influencers for promoting the programme.

The Russian Embassy in Pretoria denied knowledge of any recruitment linked to Alabuga, saying it had "no information" on drone production at the complex.

In Uganda, authorities suspended their citizens' participation in the programme, citing "safety concerns" after warnings from embassy officials in Moscow.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, local media outlet Premium Times exposed that job adverts for Alabuga had briefly appeared on the Education Ministry's official website, which the ministry later claimed had been "hacked and manipulated by generative AI."

A July 2025 report by the Institute for Science and International Security documented major new construction at the Alabuga SEZ, including drone assembly lines, training centres, and dormitories for "student workers."

Observers say the unfolding scandal underscores the urgent need for African governments — including Zimbabwe — to strengthen safeguards against trafficking disguised as overseas training and to protect vulnerable youth from exploitation under the banner of opportunity.