Father-of-three Dubandlela was overcome with pride when his 20-year-old son signed up in July to receive elite training as a VIP bodyguard in Russia.
Five months later, Dubandlela is in despair. His son had fallen for an alleged recruitment scam in which he and at least 16 other South African men say they were conscripted by an unspecified mercenary group and sent to join Russian forces in Ukraine.
I blame myself, Dubandlela, who had been unable to afford university fees for his son, told Reuters at his home in Durban.
