Munaka Muthambi Breaks Silence on Russia Alabuga Program: “It Was Never About the Money for Me”

• Munaka Muthambi released a statement addressing the Russia Alabuga Program following backlash
• In her statement shared on her Instagram stories, Munaka revealed how she was recruited to advertise the Russian work-study opportunity
• This comes after Cyan Boujee, Seemah and other influencers are experiencing the consequences of endorsing the Russia Alabuga Program

Under fire, South African reality TV star and influencer Munaka Muthambi, also known as Moonaka, has shared how she was recruited to advertise the Russia Alabuga program.

Munaka, together with popular influencers such as Cyan Boujee, Seemah and Siyamthanda Anita, among others, dominated social media trending charts after videos of them endorsing the Alabuga program were reshared online. Following public uproar, Cyan Boujee, who is also now under investigation for promoting the program, broke her silence and apologised.

Now, Munaka Muthambi has also apologised for endorsing the Alabuga program, while disclosing how she got involved in it.

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Munaka Muthambi breaks silence on Russia Alabuga Program

On Wednesday, 27 August 2025, Munaka shared a statement on her Instagram stories. She echoed the same sentiments as Cyan Boujee, sharing that while she got paid, she didn’t do it for the money.

“I'd like to address the Russia Alabuga program. The first thing I want to say is travel and anything that has to do with education, women or empowering people are passions of mine. So, when the opportunity came to go to Russia for this program, I was very open to it. I didn’t even get paid a fraction of what I charge. I'm very selective with brands, so trust me, it was never about the money for me,” part of the statement reads.

Munaka Muthambi details how she was recruited for Russia Alabuga

Munaka Muthambi disclosed that she was recruited for the opportunity via a reputable agency. When she allegedly expressed reservations about the program, Munaka said they assured her that the reports online were fake and that it was legitimate. She said:

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“I can't speak for the other influencers, but I was approached for this campaign via a reputable agency that my friends had worked with on other campaigns, so I trusted them. When we discussed our concerns, they sent a sheet of sources stating that most of the news online is fake news and the program is legit.”

Munaka Muthambi apologises for advertising Russian program

She apologised for promoting the Russia Alabuga program. Munaka Muthambi, who left the Podcast and Chill network to focus on a dream project, shared the steps she took to verify for herself that the program was legit before advertising it.

“I am sorry for my role in this. I have no words. Even after what I thought was due diligence (by working with a good agency, receiving credible reviews, and even going to the place before I post about it), this still happened,” the statement ended.

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In a prior statement, Munaka had explained why she was posting content from other brands instead of addressing the Russia Alabuga program controversy. She stated that she wasn’t blue-ticking the drama, but fulfilling her contractual obligations. The statement reads:

“Also, if you see me posting brand content, please understand I am CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED to do so. I genuinely cannot not post, so please don't think I don’t think I don’t care about the situation or I want to act like it didn't happen. NO. I just have to do my job.”

Cyan Boujee, Seemah and others lose TikTok accounts

Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that Cyan Boujee, Seemah and several influencers who advertised the Russia Alabuga Program lost their TikTok accounts after South Africans took action.

Seemah lost a TikTok account with a staggering 2.8 million followers, while Cyan Boujee’s account with 1.8 million followers was also suspended. A social media user shared the other accounts that lost thousands and millions of followers.

Source: Briefly News