The Kenyan government said Monday that Russian agents used deceptive methods, including falsified information, to lure Kenyan citizens into military service in Ukraine. Some victims unknowingly found themselves in Russian military operations after being promised legitimate jobs.
The Kenyan case reflects a wider pattern of Russian recruitment targeting foreign nationals. Similar schemes have reportedly involved recruits from more than 20 countries, with some forced into military service under coercion.
Kenya has engaged the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reached an agreement for citizens held without their consent to be released to Kenya’s mission in Moscow. Several nationals have already been rescued, with emergency travel documents issued to facilitate their safe return home.
The mission is working to establish the total number of Kenyans detained in military camps and to assist those who manage to leave voluntarily.
The government said agents masquerade as Russian officials and urged immigration and security agencies to strengthen vigilance at border points, particularly airports, to prevent further recruitment.
“Kenya expressed its concern that its young citizens continue to be lured by such corrupt and ruthless agents to travel to Russia and unknowingly find themselves in the Russian military operation,” the statement from the Kenyan Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Ministry of Foreign & Diaspora Affairs reads.
The office said Kenya remains committed to strengthening bilateral relations with Russia, including negotiating a Bilateral Labour Agreement to provide legitimate employment opportunities for its citizens abroad.
Russian recruitment network promises fake jobs
The announcement follows a September intelligence-led operation in Nairobi, where police rescued 22 Kenyans awaiting processing to Russia.
Authorities arrested Edward Kamau Gituku, accused of coordinating the recruitment, and seized materials showing victims had signed agreements to pay between $13,000 and $18,000 for visas, travel, and accommodation.
His defense team claimed the company had already facilitated the travel of more than 1,000 Kenyans to Russia, according to local media reports.
Ukrainian forces captured Kenyan athlete Evans Kibet in September after he fought alongside Russian troops in Kharkiv Oblast. Kibet said a sports agent offered him a tourist trip to Saint Petersburg before pressuring him to sign documents in Russian that turned out to be military contracts.
"I didn't know it was a military job. He told me to sign and took my passport and phone, and that is how everything went wrong," Kibet said in a video interview with Ukrainian forces. When he tried to refuse military service, recruiters told him he would either fight or be killed.
Russia has recruited citizens from at least 21 countries - from Nepal to Cuba - through similar deceptive schemes, with BBC confirming 523 foreign mercenaries from 28 countries killed since the invasion began.
