Several South African influencers have come forward to share their side of the story amid growing social media outrage over a Russian work program that some have linked to human trafficking.

The controversy, dubbed the “Alabuga saga”, has dominated online conversations this week, with many calling for accountability.

On a special edition of MacG’s podcast, influencers Zille, Seemah, and Monaka, described how they were approached earlier this year by agencies to promote a Russian work program targeting women aged 18 to 22 for hospitality and other roles.

They traveled to Russia, visited the program’s facilities, and reported that the participants they met were happy and properly compensated.

Zille, one of the main influencers, expressed regret over not researching the program more thoroughly before promoting it.

“There’s no money in the world worth me being involved in such things,” he said.

He also offered to donate any earnings from the campaign to NGOs working against human trafficking.

Seemah and Monaka described their experiences in Russia as safe and professional, saying that the women they interacted with were treated well, living in proper accommodations and learning skills like the Russian language. They emphasised that they did not witness any signs of trafficking.

Siya Mhlungu from SWAY Digital, one of the agency that coordinated the campaign, said they had been contracted by an agency based in Dubai to join the social media campaign encouraging young women to find work in Russia. He said there were other South Africa-based agencies which were doing similar work, but they had yet to reveal themselves publicly.

He explained that extensive research and due diligence was conducted before the influencers were involved. Mhlungu said his agency verified registration certificates, contacted previous participants, and reviewed the program’s infrastructure. He said the Alabuga Start programme was a Russian government funded programme from the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, questioning why a government programme could be involved in human trafficking.

Mhlungu apologised to the influencers for not reaching out to them sooner when the controversy started, but he explained that he had been trying to seek high level resolution from the Russian Embassy and the South African Government to put out statements.

Mhlungu said it had become clear to them as an agency, especially after the Russian Embassy and the government issued statements, that people did not care about the truth. He said there was no persons trafficked to Russia, and that the big issue was that the masses did not care about the truth, and that they had intentionally targeted the social media accounts of the influencers.

Despite these assurances from the two governments, social media backlash has been severe and relentless. Influencers say the situation has caused reputational damage and emotional stress.

“No matter what we do, they will always associate us like that,” Munaka said, referring to the accusations of promoting human trafficking.

IOL News

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