More than 1,000 Kenyans have been lured to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to an intelligence report presented to parliament in Kenya. Lawmakers were told that "rogue" recruitment agencies and individuals were continuing to send Kenyan nationals to the frontline, marking a sharp rise from the roughly 200 cases previously acknowledged by the foreign ministry in November.
Further reading: Kenyan athlete duped by sports agent and forced to fight for Russia.
The findings, read to parliament by majority leader Kimani Ichung'wah, cite an investigation by Kenya's National Intelligence Service. The report alleges that employment agencies targeted former military personnel, police officers and civilians seeking work abroad, offering monthly salaries of about 350,000 Kenyan shillings, large bonuses and the promise of Russian citizenship. It also claims collusion between recruiters and officials in several Kenyan government agencies, as well as cooperation from staff linked to Embassy of Russia in Kenya, to facilitate travel.
Russia has denied any involvement in illegal recruitment. In a statement, the embassy in Nairobi rejected the accusations as "misleading propaganda," insisting that Russian authorities had not engaged in unlawful enlistment of Kenyan citizens into the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, routes for recruits have reportedly shifted to neighboring countries to avoid tighter scrutiny at Nairobi's main airport.
The report outlines the human toll: dozens of Kenyans are said to be hospitalised, missing in action, detained or stationed on the frontline. Kenya's foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, is expected to visit Russia next month to address what officials describe as the "unacceptable and clandestine" recruitment of Kenyan nationals, as scrutiny grows over Moscow's efforts to draw foreign fighters into the conflict...