Kenyan officials are investigating reports that citizens have been lured into Russia and forced to fight in the war against Ukraine.
The latest case involves Evans Kibet, a Kenyan athlete, who was captured this week in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast. He surrendered to Ukraine’s 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade after a short deployment on the frontline.
Kibet explained that he had traveled to Russia as a tourist. Near the end of his stay, a contact offered to help him extend his visa and promised a job. He was given documents in Russian, which he signed without understanding. Soon after, his passport and phone were taken away.
“I joined the Russian military not knowing I was being recruited. I had never wanted a military job,” Kibet said in a video released by the Ukrainian Army.
He added that he was forced into a training camp and warned he could not back out. After only one week of training, he was sent to fight.
This is not an isolated case. In May, a video on Russian Telegram channels showed three other Kenyans — Gitahi Peter Njenga (32), Felix Mutahi (28), and Martin Munene Njenga (36) — fighting alongside Russian troops. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei confirmed the government is following up on at least four cases. “We assure families that our Mission in Moscow and our teams at HQ are pursuing the matter with diligence,” he said.
The issue extends beyond soldiers. A report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime claims 14 Kenyan women are among Africans forced to work in drone factories in Russia under harsh conditions.
The Russian Embassy in Nairobi has dismissed the report as “anti-Russian disinformation.”
Still, the cases highlight growing concerns over human trafficking and the exploitation of Kenyans under false promises of work abroad. Families now wait anxiously for answers
