Seemah Gets Emotional While Talking About Russia Alabuga Program Drama, SA Unfazed: “She Will Learn”

• Seemah burst into tears while discussing the impact the Russia Alabuga Program has had on her livelihood
• Her reaction was captured in a teaser trailer for a special episode of Podcast and Chill with MacG on Monday, 1 September 2025
• While some social media users sympathised with Seemah, others criticised her, arguing that her pain was minor compared to the damage the programme has done

South African influencer and content creator Seemah broke down in tears as she shared the pain of losing her TikTok account, which had almost three million followers, after advertising the Russia Alabuga Start Program.

Seemah is one of the individuals who got their TikTok accounts banned after South Africans took action against influencers who advertised the controversial Russia Alabuga Start Program. MacG sat down with the affected influencers and Siyabonga Mhlungu, the man who recruited them for the Start Program in Russia campaign, for an in-depth discussion on a Podcast and Chill special episode.

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Seemah breaks down while discussing Russia Alabuga controversy

In a teaser trailer shared on Monday, 1 September 2025, across the Podcast and Chill Network’s social media accounts, Seemah burst into tears while discussing the impact of losing her TikTok account, which she had spent years building and had 2.8 million followers.

Watch the teaser trailer below:

Social media user @Oriana_RSA took screenshots of Seemah in tears. In the caption, the social media user sympathised with Seemah. The post was captioned:

“Nah, I don’t blame Seemah for crying over losing a 2.8 million follower account on TikTok. Losing an account hurts 😭”

How netizens reacted to Seemah crying over TikTok account

Netizens filled the comments section with mixed opinions. Several netizens sympathised with her, while others argued that having her TikTok account suspended was nothing compared to losing a child to human trafficking.

Here are some of the comments:

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@Razor896 said:

“Losing an X account hurts more, TikTok doesn’t pay🤣”

@BlvckCroissant asked:

“Does it hurt as much as losing a child to human trafficking?”

@PulseOnX sympathised:

“That’s her bread, man; she did most of her promos on that platform. Otherwise, it’s a teachable moment for her and other involved influencers. They need to treat themselves like businesses; scepticism and due diligence are very critical when conducting business deals.”

@MelodicVibz shared:

“I feel bad for her, but what they did was horrible. She has learnt her lesson, and she will be alright.”

@MokwadiMo highlighted:

“Getting blocked by someone hurts, now imagine losing an account 🤦🏿‍♂️”

@Shika05Maru said:

“At least she gets a second chance to do things again. People have experienced and gone through things that have no redo button because they failed to take the time and check out their business partners.”

@vuyo_vw questioned:

“What about people who almost lost their family members?”

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@MosiaKaybee argued:

“And it doesn’t even come close to losing a single girl. An entire human being who was deceived. She will learn from this.”

What you need to know about the Russia Alabuga Program

Several South African influencers, including Cyan Boujee, Peachy Sprinkles, Ghost Hlubi, Seemah, Zillewizzy and Aya Langa promoted Russia’s controversial Alabuga Start programme, which has been linked to human trafficking and labour exploitation.

Marketed as a glamorous work-study opportunity in hospitality and education, the programme lured young African women aged between 18 and 22 with glossy social media campaigns. However, investigations after a massive outcry on social media revealed that the girls were instead forced into assembling military drones under harsh working conditions.

Following the public backlash, most influencers deleted their posts and apologised, admitting they had not done thorough research. While Cyan Boujee described her experience as a huge learning curve, after allegedly fleeing Russia under distressing conditions, others like Munaka and Zillewizzy insisted they had witnessed nothing suspicious during their stay. The South African government has since launched investigations and urged youth to be cautious of overseas job offers promoted through social media.

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Munaka shares how she was recruited to advertise Russia Alabuga Program

Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that Munaka Muthambi released a statement revealing how she was recruited to advertise the Russia Alabuga Program.

In a statement shared on her Instagram stories, Munaka also shared the steps she had taken to ensure that the Start Program was above board. The former Piano Pulse host also shared how she was reassured when she raised concerns about the programme.

Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News