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Charles Ojiambo Mutoka, 72, with portraits of his son Oscar, killed in August, as families call for urgent repatriation of conscripts in Nairobi, Jan 27, 2026. [AFP]
At least 1,000 Kenyans have reportedly been recruited and deployed to fight in the Russian-Ukrainian war, with some of them leaving the country through tourist visas to join the Russian army.
Leader of the Majority Party in the National Assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah, told the house that some Kenyans have left the country through Istanbul, Turkey as well as Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to Ichung’wah, as of this month (February), 39 are hospitalised, 30 have been repatriated, 28 are missing, 35 are deployed in camps, 89 others are on the frontline, one is detained and another one has completed the contract.
“The ongoing Russian war continues to trigger the recruitment of foreign fighters through rogue agencies, which are targeting ex-military, ex-police as well as civilians in the ages of between mid-20s and 50 a who are desperate for job opportunities abroad,” he said, adding, “The agencies have been enticing Kenyans, promising lucrative terms of service such as salaries of about Sh300,000 per month and hefty bonus between Sh900,000 and Sh1.2 million as well as being issued with Russian citizenship in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Ichung’wah said in a statement presented in the House from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
He also noted that some Kenyans leave the country through a transit visa to join the Russian army through other countries and due to increased interceptions of these suspects at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), the recruits have changed tact and are now travelling through Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa to avoid detection.
Ichung’wah also stated some agencies have been colluding with rogue airport staff from the Directorate of Immigration, DCI, the Anti-Narcotics Unit and the National Employment Authority to facilitate recruits without interception at JKIA.
Others, he said, have been colluding with some staff at the Russian embassy in Nairobi and the Kenyan embassy in Moscow, who have been issuing recruits with Russian visit visas.
“For the close to over 1,000 estimated to have gone, not all have travelled from Kenya; some are already in the diaspora who have since moved to go and fight in Russia,” he said.
The Majority leader named Global Face Human Resources Limited, a private recruitment agency located along Koinange Street, Nairobi, owned by one Festus Omwamba, which was registered in 2024 and is currently not accredited by NEA, as one of the agencies that has been actively holding recruitment drives.
The drives, he said, have been targeting skilled and semi-skilled youths for foreign employment using the ‘kazi majuu’ initiative to present itself as a legitimate government-endorsed agency.
The statement indicated that the recruits had departed the country on tourist visas to clandestinely join the Russian military.
He said several victims have returned to Kenya, either maimed or having managed to escape from the war zone through assistance from the Kenyan embassy in Moscow.
“The majority of recruited Kenyans indicated that they were made to sign contracts from the agency and unnamed overseas support agencies based in Moscow,” he said.
Upon arrival in Moscow, the statement indicates that they were taken to military camps, trained for three weeks and subsequently deployed to the battlefield.
They were also required to open Russian bank accounts, while 17 payments via Mpesa of Sh975,000 were confirmed, while three returnees said they paid Sh640,000, bringing the total confirmed payment to about Sh1.16 million
Kenyans who returned last year shared intelligence with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and subsequently conducted a raid of the identified holding base in Greatwall apartments in Athi River.
In September, 22 victims, all aged between 24 and 38, were being held pending travel and were under the care of a certain Mr Edward Kamau, a Joel Muchiri alias Caleb and a Russian national linked to Festus’ activities.
According to Ichung’wah, his social media presence identifies him as an African Market enthusiast and was arrested in September and repatriated, but reports indicate that he was planning to sneak back to Kenya.
“Inspocare Health Limited s and Universal Trends Medical and Diagnostic Centre were used to conduct medical examinations for potential recruits,” he noted.
During the raid, recovered were 39 unsigned employment contracts, 16 passports for the victims and two mobile phones for the suspect, two laptops, a printer and a vehicle believed to have transported the victims.
He regretted that the recruitment is exposing Kenyans to various risks, endangering the lives of innocent young people and has the potential to cause diplomatic tiffs between Kenya and the warring countries.
The MPs expressed shock over the manner in which Kenyans have been taken to Moscow to fight another sovereign country, Ukraine.
“This is a chilling matter. We are so vulnerable to the extent that we are unable to manage this situation. The DCI and the NIS need to move with swiftness and deal with these rogue agencies,” said Ichung’wah.
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Charles Ojiambo Mutoka, 72, with portraits of his son Oscar, killed in August, as families call for urgent repatriation of conscripts in Nairobi, Jan 27, 2026. [AFP]
. [AFP]
At least 1,000 Kenyans have reportedly been recruited and deployed to fight in the Russian-Ukrainian war, with some of them leaving the country through tourist visas to join the Russian army.
Leader of the Majority Party in the National Assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah, told the house that some Kenyans have left the country through Istanbul, Turkey as well as Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to Ichung’wah, as of this month (February), 39 are hospitalised, 30 have been repatriated, 28 are missing, 35 are deployed in camps, 89 others are on the frontline, one is detained and another one has completed the contract.
“The ongoing Russian war continues to trigger the recruitment of foreign fighters through rogue agencies, which are targeting ex-military, ex-police as well as civilians in the ages of between mid-20s and 50 a who are desperate for job opportunities abroad,” he said, adding, “The agencies have been enticing Kenyans, promising lucrative terms of service such as salaries of about Sh300,000 per month and hefty bonus between Sh900,000 and Sh1.2 million as well as being issued with Russian citizenship in the Russia-Ukraine war,” Ichung’wah said in a statement presented in the House from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
He also noted that some Kenyans leave the country through a transit visa to join the Russian army through other countries and due to increased interceptions of these suspects at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), the recruits have changed tact and are now travelling through Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa to avoid detection.
Ichung’wah also stated some agencies
have been colluding with rogue
airport staff from the Directorate of Immigration, DCI, the Anti-Narcotics Unit and the National Employment Authority to facilitate recruits without interception at JKIA.
Others, he said, have been colluding with some staff at the Russian embassy in Nairobi and the Kenyan embassy in Moscow, who have been issuing recruits with Russian visit visas.
“For the close to over 1,000 estimated to have gone, not all have travelled from Kenya; some are already in the diaspora who have since moved to go and fight in Russia,” he said.
The Majority leader named Global Face Human Resources Limited, a private recruitment agency located along Koinange Street, Nairobi, owned by one Festus Omwamba, which was registered in 2024 and is currently not accredited by NEA, as one of the agencies that has been actively holding recruitment drives.
The drives, he said, have been targeting skilled and semi-skilled youths for foreign employment using the ‘kazi majuu’ initiative to present itself as a legitimate government-endorsed agency.
The statement indicated that the recruits had departed the country on tourist visas to clandestinely join the Russian military.
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He said several victims have returned to Kenya, either maimed or having managed to escape from the war zone through assistance from the Kenyan embassy in Moscow.
“The majority of recruited Kenyans indicated that they were made to sign contracts from the agency and unnamed overseas support agencies based in Moscow,” he said.
Upon arrival in Moscow, the statement indicates that they were taken to military camps, trained for three weeks and subsequently deployed to the battlefield.
They were also required to open Russian bank accounts,
while 17 payments via Mpesa
of Sh975,000 were confirmed, while three returnees said they paid Sh640,000, bringing the total confirmed payment to about Sh1.16 million
Kenyans who returned last year shared intelligence with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and subsequently conducted a raid of the identified holding base in Greatwall apartments in Athi River.
In September, 22 victims, all aged between 24 and 38, were being held pending travel and were under the care of a certain Mr Edward Kamau, a Joel Muchiri alias Caleb and a Russian national linked to Festus’ activities.
According to Ichung’wah, his social media presence identifies him as an African Market enthusiast and was arrested in September and repatriated, but reports indicate that he was planning to sneak back to Kenya.
“Inspocare Health Limited s and Universal Trends Medical and Diagnostic
Centre were used to conduct
medical examinations for potential recruits,” he noted.
During the raid, recovered were 39 unsigned employment contracts, 16 passports for the victims and two mobile phones for the suspect, two laptops, a printer and a vehicle believed to have transported the victims.
He regretted that the recruitment is exposing Kenyans to various risks, endangering the lives of innocent young people and has the potential to cause diplomatic tiffs between Kenya and the warring countries.
The MPs expressed shock over the manner in which Kenyans have been taken to Moscow to fight another sovereign country, Ukraine.
“This is a chilling matter. We are so vulnerable to the extent that we are unable to manage this situation. The DCI and the NIS need to move with swiftness and deal with these rogue agencies,” said Ichung’wah.
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By Irene Githinji