Kenya’s Foreign Minister to visit Russia over forced conscripts in Ukraine
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Relatives of Kenyans conscripted by the Russian army holding photos of their family members at a press conference demanding urgent government action to repatriate them, in Nairobi, on Jan 27.
PHOTO: AFP
- Kenya condemned recruiters for deceiving citizens with job offers in Russia, then sending them to Ukraine's front lines as "cannon fodder".
- Reports confirm Kenyans are dying or wounded in Ukraine after being forced into Russian army contracts, despite having no military background.
- Foreign Minister Mudavadi will visit Moscow for talks to resolve this issue, secure POW releases, and verify hospitalised Kenyans.
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NAIROBI – Kenya said on Feb 10 its Foreign Minister would go to Moscow in March after condemning recruiters luring Kenyans to Russia with promises of lucrative jobs, only to send them to Ukraine’s front lines as “cannon fodder”.
Mounting reports in recent weeks indicate that Kenyans, deceived into travelling for high-paying work in Russia, are dying on the battlefield or suffering serious wounds.
An AFP investigation
“We have seen loss of lives, and I am planning to make a visit to Moscow so that we can emphasise that this is something that needs to be arrested,” Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi said in a statement.
The four, three of whom returned wounded, were given contracts written in Russian.
One had expected to work as a salesman, two as security guards and the fourth as a high-level athlete.
In December 2025, Kenyan authorities said that around 200 citizens had been sent to fight in Ukraine, but the four said the figure was underestimated.
Mr Mudavadi said he would also pursue the release of Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine and “verify” the condition of those hospitalised.
He said more than 30 Kenyans had been evacuated from Russia over the past two months and unscrupulous recruitment agencies in the East African country had been shut down.
“It looks like there’s a pattern for luring people and having them die,” Junior Foreign Minister Abraham Korir Sing’Oei told AFP, adding that it was “unacceptable”.
“These individuals are used as cannon fodder on the war front... No Kenyan would voluntarily enter into that kind of engagement,” Mr Sing’Oei said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said in November that more than 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries had been identified among the Russian ranks.
Return process
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks on Feb 10 with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on returning South Africans also lured into fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine.
The South African government said in November it had received “distress calls” from 17 men, who were trapped in the epicentre of the fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being tricked into joining mercenary forces.
“President Ramaphosa and President Putin pledged their support to the process of returning South Africans fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine,” the South African President’s office said, in a statement.
“In this regard, teams from both sides will continue their engagements towards the finalisation of this process.”
The daughter of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma is among several people accused of recruiting men to join Russian mercenaries in the Ukraine war. AFP
