Busia senator and human rights defender Okiya Omtatah has publicly threatened to sue the government over 74 Kenyans who are stranded in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
According to Omtatah, the Kenyans were duped into working in Cambodia for their English literacy and later forced to work as online scammers.
The Kenyan citizens in Cambodia were held in camps in the country, where most of the Cambodians do not speak English.
Reports of the 74 Kenyans stranded in Cambodia came up when the cases of the Kenyans who were duped into joining the Russian military.
“So you ask yourself, how poor can a country be that their people are just being taken out and they go?” Omtatah questioned the nation’s situation during an interview at the KTN.
Additionally, Okiya Omtatah pleaded with the government to prioritize the issue of Kenyans stranded abroad in search of work.
He stated that he is considering filing a class action suit against the government for its failure to fulfill its duty the protect Kenyan citizens.
Okiya Omtatah Calls out Senior State Officers
In relation to the address of the Kenyans that had been recruited to join the Russian military, Okiya stated that the government should have summoned the ambassador of Russia to solve the problem before Kenya’s Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi travelled to Russia.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Dr. Alfred Mutua, among other senior state officers, was called out by the senator for failing to address the issue of Kenyans being duped.
Omtatah explained that senior state officers advocating publicly for Kenyans to travel to other countries in search of greener pastures should take the lead to ensure Kenyans are not duped.
Also Read: Ruto to Confront Putin Over Recruitment of Kenyans into War
As of March 10, 67 families had shared the details of their loved ones who traveled to Russia with the State Department of Diaspora Affairs, seeking answers on their whereabouts.
“Since this matter came up, we feel that the Minister for Foreign Affairs should have taken it up very quickly,” Peter Kamau, the family’s representative, said in an interview with the KTN.
Illegal Recruitment of Kenyans
In late February, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah presented a report from security agencies detailing the individuals and agencies involved in the recruitment of Kenyan citizens.
According to the Kenyan intelligence report, 1,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight for Russia.
With 89 Kenyans on the front lines of the Russia–Ukraine war, an additional 35 have been sent to military camps in Russia, 39 are injured, and 28 are missing as of February 2026, as reported by the Kenya National Intelligence Service (NIS).
“They are told you are going to work as a guard… only to get there and you are taken to military camps,” Ichung’wah said.
Kimani Ichung’wah termed the recruiters a deeply disturbing network of rogue state officials who were working with a human trafficking syndicate to recruit Kenyans to the Russian military.
Also Read: How Kenyans Are Recruited to Join Ukraine and Russia, Military Combat Veteran Explains
Ichung’wah alleged that the staff at the Russian embassy in Nairobi and the Kenyan embassy in Moscow helped recruits get Russian visas.
The Russian embassy in Nairobi, however, dismissed the allegations made against them, stating that the embassy did not at any point encourage Kenyan citizens to travel to Russia.
A suspect involved in the recruitment is currently before the Kahawa Law Courts on human trafficking charges.
The legitimacy of the report presented by Kimani Ichung’wah has been called into question, as it has yet to be made public despite being presented in parliament.
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