Russia has recruited over 1,000 Kenyan mercenaries and sent them to fight in its war against Ukraine, a Kenyan MP told parliament, citing a joint intelligence and criminal investigation report, according to Le Monde. The figure is five times larger than the 200 previously known, with families of recruited Kenyans now protesting in Nairobi and demanding their relatives' return.
Russia is increasingly relying on foreign mercenaries as battlefield losses in Ukraine outpace its ability to recruit replacements, with at least 18,000 foreign nationals from 128 countries identified as having fought for Moscow since the start of the full-scale invasion. Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and other African nations are those targeted by Russia's recruitment networks, as Moscow suffers heavy losses in Ukraine.
Over 1,000 Kenyans recruited through deception
"To date, over 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited and sent to fight in the Russo-Ukrainian war," MP Kimani Ichung'wah told Kenya's parliament on 18 February.
He cited a joint report from the country's intelligence services and its Directorate of Criminal Investigations. The number far exceeds the 200 Kenyan citizens authorities had previously acknowledged.
A Nairobi-based recruitment agency lured the mercenaries with promised monthly salaries of €920 to €2,400. In Kenya, where many workers earn barely €100 a month, the sums represent a fortune. Many recruits were forced to sign military contracts, Ichung'wah said.
Kenya demands Russia stop recruiting its citizens as cannon fodder for the war in Ukraine
Tourist visas and transit routes across three continents
Recruits leave Kenya on tourist visas and reach the Russian army via Istanbul and Abu Dhabi, according to the report. Some now transit through Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Africa to avoid checks. Kenyans already working abroad have also traveled to Russia from their countries of residence.
The recruitment pipeline involves corrupt employees at Nairobi's airport, Kenya's national employment services, staff at Russia's embassy in Nairobi, and staff at Kenya's embassy in Moscow, Ichung'wah said.
Kenyan athlete says he was lured to Russian army, but Ukrainian fighters who captured him aren’t so sure about that
A February count found 89 Kenyan mercenaries deployed on the front line, 35 stationed in camps or military bases, 28 missing, and 39 hospitalized. Thirty Kenyans have been repatriated so far.
Families protest in Nairobi as Russia denies everything
Families of 35 recruited Kenyans gathered in Nairobi following the parliamentary report. They held up signs with photos of their relatives and chanted "Give us back our sons." Several told AFP they had been without news for months and said their relatives had been trapped by false job promises. They filed a petition calling on the government and MPs to open an investigation and speed up repatriation efforts.
As is always the case when Moscow is accused of actions it demonstrably carries out, its embassy in Nairobi dismissed the accusations on X as a "dangerous and misleading propaganda campaign."
"Cannon fodder"
Kenya's government condemned Russia's use of its citizens as "cannon fodder," according to Le Monde. Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi is scheduled to visit Moscow next month.
