Celebrity influencers Cyan Boujee, Seemah Mangolwane, Aya Langa, Siyamthanda Anita and Ghost Hlubi have been dragged for their promotion of the Russian company Alabuga Start program.
The scrutiny comes after reports surfaced online about the company being allegedly investigated for recruiting African females on social media to work at the Russian factory to assemble drones to be launched in Ukraine.
In a viral video, it states that recruited females often did not realise they would be making weapons until after arrival and during recruitment they were told they would be joining a word-study programs in fields like hospitality.
It has come to light that, Cyan Boujee isallegedly under investigation for promoting the Russian job program, which has been flagged as potentially linked to a human trafficking scheme.
Cyan previously advertised on social media promising young African females high-paying jobs, free flights, and accommodation in Russia.
Influencer Aya, posted an apology video on her TikTok claiming that she was approached by someone in her space, who’s been in the game for longer than she has been.
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“First and foremost, I’d like apologise to everybody especially those that we considering and actually applied and got the influence from my video. I was not aware of the plot behind this campaign.”
“When she told me about it, it was easy for me to agree because I had already seen from videos of others that went to Russia. When some had went everything seems to be fine. The kids were even happy to be there nothing seemed sketchy or dodgy.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Clayson Monyela has since advised young females to be cautious of unverified foreign job offers.
“Some of these job opportunities are being promoted by influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. “Human trafficking syndicates are luring people into all sorts of illegal activities under slave-life conditions. If something looks too good to be true, get a second opinion.
“Contact the department or any of our embassies in the country of interest,” he said. According to an investigation by the Associated Press (AP), young women are lured to Russia with promises of plane tickets, education, higher salaries and the chance of a “European” adventure,” said Monyela.
