Over 1000 Kenyans recruited to Russian - Ukraine war - NIS

At least 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited into the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, a National Intelligence Service report to Parliament indicates.

The report says the majority were allegedly duped by rogue agents who promised lucrative jobs abroad. 

According to the report read by the National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah, many of the affected youth were misled into believing they had secured well-paying security and logistics jobs.

The Kikuyu MP said some Kenyans have left the country through Istanbul, Türkiye, as well as Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

He said some Kenyans leave the country on transit visas to join the Russian army, due to increased interceptions of suspects at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

Some agencies, he noted, have been colluding with rogue airport staff from the Directorate of Immigration, DCI and the National Employment Authority (NEA) to facilitate recruits escaping scrutiny at JKIA.

“Close to 1,000 estimated have not all travelled from Kenya; some are already in the diaspora who have since moved to go and fight in Russia,” he said.

The report indicates that upon arrival, several recruits found themselves redirected to training camps and eventually deployed to the battlefront in the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

Ichung’wah said 39 are hospitalised, 30 have been repatriated, 28 are missing, 35 are deployed in camps, 89 others are on the frontline, one is detained and another has completed the contract.

“The ongoing Russian war continues to trigger the recruitment of foreign fighters through rogue agencies targeting ex-military, ex-police, as well as civilians in their mid-20s who are desperate for job opportunities abroad,” he told Parliament.

“The agencies have been enticing Kenyans, promising lucrative terms of service such as salaries of about Sh300,000 per month and hefty bonuses between Sh900,000 and Sh1.2 million, as well as being issued with Russian citizenship.”

Intelligence briefings warn the recruiters exploited high unemployment and desperation among young Kenyans, using social media and informal travel agencies to lure them.

Ichung’wah singled out Global Face Human Resources Limited, a private recruitment agency run by Festus Omwamba, as one of the agencies notorious for the illegal recruitment.

The agency was registered in 2024 and is currently not accredited by NEA.

The agency, Ichung’wah said, has been targeting skilled and semi-skilled youths for foreign employment using the ‘kazi majuu’ initiative and presenting itself as a legitimate government agency.

He said several victims have returned to the country either maimed or having managed to escape from the war zone with the help of the Kenyan embassy in Moscow.

“Most recruited Kenyans indicated that they were made to sign contracts from the agency and unnamed overseas support agencies based in Moscow,” Ichung’wah said.

The government has urged job seekers to verify overseas employment offers through the Ministry of Labour and relevant diplomatic missions, warning that illegal recruitment schemes could expose them to grave danger.

Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap called for swift action against the rogue agencies before they endanger the lives of more Kenyans.

“I am extremely shocked by the manner in which Kenyans can be taken to Moscow to fight another sovereign country, Ukraine,” he said.

“This is a chilling matter. We are so vulnerable to the extent that we are unable to manage this situation. The DCI and the NIS need to move with swiftness and deal with these rogue agencies.”

The Russia-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed groups who started a war in the eastern Donbas region against Ukraine's military.