‘Given a gun and sent to die’: Kenyans lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine

NAIROBI, Kenya — In Sikonga village, Kisii County, a mom’s wails fill the home. Dennis Bagaka Ombwori, 39, the second-born son of John and Esther Ombwori, is the most recent Kenyan confirmed lifeless within the Russia–Ukraine warfare.

Villagers collect outdoors, providing what little consolation they’ll, however Esther Ombwori can’t be consoled. Dennis labored as a safety officer in Qatar when recruiters approached him with what gave the impression to be a greater supply. However his household says he by no means knew what the job actually was.

His brother, Alfred Morara, mentioned the information had shattered the household.

“They weren’t advised which job they needed to do. They had been taken to Russia.” Morara mentioned. “He was recruited as a overseas soldier in Russia. They began combating for Russia towards Ukraine.”

A whole bunch of miles away in Nairobi, the Ogolla household mourns the same loss. 32-year-old Oscar Agola Ojiambo vanished shortly after becoming a member of the Russian military final June. Months later, his household continues to be ready for solutions — and for his physique.

“The commanders on the warfare entrance revealed that my son died on 14 August 2025,” says Charles Ojiambo Mutoka, Oscar’s father. “That revelation got here in January this yr, however the Russian authorities has not disclosed it to subsequent of kin.”

For households just like the Ombworis and the Ogollas, hope is slipping away. A report introduced to Parliament on Wednesday by Kenya’s Nationwide Intelligence Service estimates that greater than 1,000 Kenyans are at present combating in Ukraine — far increased than earlier figures.

The federal government says they’re working to determine and repatriate Kenyans caught within the battle, however the scale of the issue is staggering.

In response to the intelligence report, 89 Kenyans stay on the frontline, 39 have been hospitalized, and 28 are lacking in motion.

Since December, not less than 30 have been repatriated after leaving the battle, with many recounting harsh battlefield situations. A few of these lacking or feared lifeless are former Kenya Defence Forces personnel.

In Parliament, the report has sparked alarm, the place lawmakers say they’re shocked by the dimensions of the issue. Majority Chief Kimani Ichung’wah mentioned officers in each Nairobi and Moscow performed a job in sending Kenyans to the frontlines.

“Extra telling is the collusion by officers on the Russian Embassy and the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow,” Ichung’wah advised Parliament. “Our ambassador in Moscow should have the ability to determine the officers inside the embassy that will have colluded with these criminals.”

Opposition MP Joseph Makilap, who pushed for the intelligence report back to be launched, mentioned the dimensions of the recruitment was staggering.

“I’m extraordinarily shocked within the method during which Kenyans will be truly taken all the way in which to Moscow to battle one other sovereign nation known as Ukraine.”

Dr. Korir Sing’Oei, principal secretary on the Ministry of International Affairs, says younger Kenyans are falling sufferer to unscrupulous recruitment networks.

“Some Kenyans have been irregularly recruited to serve inside the context of the continuing Ukrainian-Russian battle,” Singoei mentioned. “Sadly, of their need to work overseas, many Kenyans fall sufferer to unscrupulous teams.”

Coaching for recruits is proscribed, in accordance with the Majority Chief Ichung’wah. “No one within the army trains individuals for 3 weeks. Some have solely 9 days of preparation.”

“They’re mainly given a gun and despatched to die,” Ichung’wah advised Parliament.

The Russian Embassy in Nairobi has dismissed the allegations as “harmful and deceptive,” saying its employees have by no means been concerned in “rogue schemes” or any type of unlawful recruitment.

In a put up on X, the Embassy said: “At no level throughout the ongoing disaster in Ukraine has the Embassy issued visas to Kenyan residents searching for to journey to Russia with the said function of taking part within the Particular Army Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. Nor has the Embassy inspired any Kenyan citizen to take action.”

In response to the Kenyan intelligence report the recruitment networks contain each Kenyan and overseas actors. Lots of these enlisted journey by Uganda, South Sudan, or South Africa to keep away from detection. Others go away safe jobs within the Center East for contracts promising 1000’s of {dollars} and the opportunity of Russian citizenship after a yr on the frontlines.

Recruits are promised a month-to-month wage of as much as 350,000 Kenyan shillings ($2,400), with bonuses starting from 900,000 to 1.2 million shillings ($6,200–$8,300).

Throughout the continent, this case is way from remoted. In November, Ukraine’s Minister of International Affairs Andrii Sybiha, mentioned greater than 1,400 Africans from over 30 nations had been combating for Russia — although Kenya’s personal figures counsel which may be a conservative estimate.

Younger males are promised jobs as drivers or safety guards, with salaries ten instances what they might earn at residence. As an alternative, many are despatched to the frontlines.

Kenya’s International Minister is ready to journey to Russia to push for a deal banning the conscription of Kenyan troopers — a mission households just like the Ogollas are pinning their hopes on.

For the Ogollas and lots of others, it’s greater than a coverage negotiation — it could possibly be a lifeline, providing solutions and a path residence for the a whole bunch of younger Kenyans nonetheless trapped combating in a warfare that isn’t theirs.