Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi appears before the Senate's Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations, October 8, 2026.Four Kenyans have been killed on the frontline in Ukraine, while five others are being held as prisoners of war in the ongoing conflict with Russia, the government has confirmed.
Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told the Senate on Thursday that the five Kenyans are being held under humane conditions, have access to medical services and are being treated in accordance with international law.
Mudavadi said the latest reports from Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence in Vienna indicate that one of the Kenyans has been in captivity since November 2025, while others were captured in March and April 2026.
He said many Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine reported being recruited under false promises of employment.
“The government continues to pursue their release and repatriation through diplomatic channels, including engagement with the Ukrainian authorities and the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Mudavadi said.
He said the government had proposed that, during negotiations for their repatriation, the Kenyans be considered victims of international human trafficking, with a view to having their prisoner-of-war designation revoked to facilitate access to appropriate international assistance.
Mudavadi said President William Ruto had personally raised the matter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a telephone conversation.
He said the government had made progress towards accrediting Kenya’s ambassador to Ukraine to enhance timely and effective interventions and follow-up on the cases.
“The ministry will continue to engage the affected families and apprise the committee as further verified information becomes available,” he said.
Mudavadi said the government had facilitated the repatriation of 62 Kenyans who had been involved in the military operation and had informed families about procedures for repatriating the remains of their relatives.
He said the Principal Secretary for Diaspora Affairs convened a town hall meeting with affected families on July 14, 2026, where available updates on their relatives were shared, and families referred to relevant missions for tracing and verification.
“The government continues to strengthen preventive measures aimed at protecting Kenyans from deceptive recruitment and irregular migration,” Mudavadi told the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations.
