Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has announced that Kenya will engage Russia amid reports that around 200 Kenyan nationals have been recruited to fight in Ukraine.
Speaking to the BBC, Mudavadi described the recruitment as “unacceptable and clandestine”, adding that Nairobi had shut down illegal recruiters.
Kenya Cracks Down on Illegal Recruiters-Mudavadi
Mudavadi noted that the Kenyan government has closed over 600 recruitment agencies suspected of luring citizens with false promises of overseas employment.
“Where there are illegal recruitment agencies, we have scrapped them, and we continue to scrap them,” he stated, insisting on the government’s commitment to protecting citizens.
In a separate statement, confirmed that he will visit Russia in March to address the circumstances that drew Kenyans into the Russia-Ukraine war and to prevent further exposure to danger.
He added that none of the recruited Kenyans travelled through official channels, and that the government is working to prevent further clandestine recruitment.
So far, 27 Kenyan nationals who had been fighting for Russian forces have been repatriated. Authorities are providing psychological support to address trauma and “de-radicalise” them. Mudavadi acknowledged the challenges in accounting for all affected citizens, saying,
“Families that we’ve spoken to say they have not been able to bury their loved ones because their bodies are still on the other end.”
He noted that efforts are ongoing with the Ukrainian government to recover and repatriate remains where possible.
Diplomatic Engagement and Regional Concerns
Mudavadi expressed regret over the situation, addressing Kenya’s historically positive relations with Russia.
Also Read: Kenyans Fighting in Russia: A Growing National Concern
“Kenya and Russia have had long relations since independence, literally. So, this, in my view, becomes a very unfortunate episode of otherwise very positive and cordial relations between our two countries,” he said.
Further, he stated that the government’s engagement will focus on visa policies and bilateral labour agreements that explicitly exclude military conscription.
Mudavadi confirmed that Nairobi’s focus remains on preventing illegal recruitment, supporting repatriated citizens, and maintaining diplomatic dialogue to safeguard Kenya’s citizens abroad.
“It is difficult because, remember, it depends on where the body has been found. Some have been found in Ukraine – we are also working with the government of Ukraine to try and get the remains of those people repatriated,” he said.
Also Read: Kenyan Ex-Prisons Officer Reportedly Killed on Frontlines of Russian-Ukraine War
Two More Kenyans Die Fighting for Russia in Ukraine
Two more Kenyans fighting for the Russian army were killed in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence reported on Friday, February 6, that the bodies of two Kenyans recruited to fight for Russia were recovered in the vicinity of Lyman City, in Donetsk.
“Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reports that the bodies of two more Kenyan citizens who were recruited by the aggressor state of Russia to wage a criminal war against our state have been found in the vicinity of the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region,” read the statement from Ukraine’s military intelligence unit.
The deaths of the two Kenyans came against the background of concerns over the growing number of Africans drafted into the Russian army unlawfully.
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