LISTEN | SA won’t repatriate remains of man recruited to ‘work’ in Russian war

The South African government says the family of Mvuyisi Mredlana, who died in Russia in March, will have to raise the funds to repatriate his body as it did not have a budget to do so.

Mredlana’s family learnt last week that the 36-year-old from Gauteng had died in March after being struck on his head by a drone. Mredlana was allegedly lured by a friend last year to go to Russian to work as a driver.

Now the family doesn’t know how it will repatriate Mredlana’s remains as it did not have sufficient funds to do so.

Clayson Monyela, SA’s head of diplomacy, told Sowetan on Thursday that it was the family’s responsibility to repatriate the remains. “There is no budget from the government to repatriate citizens from other countries. This is despite the expectation that the government will bring back your loved one for a funeral in South Africa,” he said.

The government only repatriated in exceptional cases, like natural disasters and with the approval of the cabinet, Monyela said, adding that considerations were also made based on the magnitude of the disaster and the number of South African nationals affected.

“The cabinet can decide to say, we will send a plane to go and bring our citizens home.”

Monyela said at least 28 South Africans who travelled to Russia on employment-related arrangements and later sought assistance to return home were repatriated in two groups. He said this was done after cabinet approved a special intervention.

Mredlana’s younger sister, Aphelele Sineke, said her brother’s friend residing in Russia had invited the deceased, who was unemployed at the time and raising five children.

On November 21 2025, Mredlana packed his bags with the hope of being able to provide for his family.

Sineke said her brother had only told the family about his trip days before he left. They accepted the decision after being told he was not going into a conflict zone, but rather had a driver’s job lined up.

“My brother really loved us and provided for us whenever he could. He had been unemployed for a long time. He would go to interviews and not really get employed,” she explained.

“This was a way for him to get amandla okuvusa ikhaya (to take the family out of poverty). That is what he said to some of his acquaintances. It is surreal that he is no more. Maybe I will believe it if we get his body home for a dignified burial. Right now I am sitting and hoping someone will say that they made a mistake, that he is still alive somewhere.”

Sineke said their family learned of her brother’s death earlier this month after a routine check-in at the Russian embassy.

They initially lost direct contact with him in January, when he told them that he would be going for two-months of training.

“In February, via the friend who had convinced him to take the job, we were told that he had been badly injured when a drone hit his head, and was in an intensive care facility. Further follow-ups went unanswered. That is why we regularly went to check with the Russian embassy, who repeatedly told us that they had no information on him. Then, in June, we received a letter about his passing from the same embassy.”

The letter seen by Sowetan, dated June 11, details how Mredlana died on March 13 at a hospital in Moscow after a “special military operation”.

“The ministry of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation requests the embassy to assist in obtaining consent from Mredlana’s relatives to bury his body in the territory of the Russian Federation,” the letter reads. “As well as the necessary documents to make payments to them. Repatriation at the expense of the ministry is not possible.”

Sineke said the family was now struggling to get her brother’s body returned for burial in SA.

“We have been to the embassy of Russia in SA asking to be assisted and they told us they can’t do it. My mother has to travel to Russia to do DNA testing and then obtain the relevant permissions to have the body transported,” she explained.

“We asked that if it was a matter of cost, we did not mind using the same compensation they would give us, but that was not entertained,” she said.

The Russians also offered to cremate the remains.

“But we want to get my brother’s body, not ashes, or the option that he is buried in Russia. We have asked the department of international relations, but they will not assist either.”

Sowetan