Following that, as reported by Kenyan local media, The Star, the country’s administration is vying for the release of two of its citizens who are being held by Ukrainian authorities after participating in Russia’s special military operations.
This information was disclosed by the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi.
“Our ministry has positively identified two Kenyans, namely Evans Kibet and Macharia Willis Muniu, as being held as prisoners of war by the Ukrainian authorities,” Mudavadi said in a press statement issued from Moscow.
The two Kenyans have been designated as prisoners of war by the Ukrainian authorities.
“I requested Moscow to explore arrangements for Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine to be transferred to the Russian Federation to facilitate their subsequent repatriation to Kenya,” he added.
“Our Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs estimates that two hundred and fifty-two Kenyans had been conscripted into Russian special military operations against Ukraine,” Mudavadi said.
It is believed that some of the individuals are former members of Kenya’s disciplined forces, including the National Police Service, the Kenya Prisons Service, the National Youth Service, and the Kenya Defence Forces.
“We note through our mission in Moscow that forty-four of our nationals have been safely repatriated back home,” he added.
A deeper look into the debacle shows that an estimated 160 Kenyans are still actively involved in the operations.
So far, according to Kenya’s government, around ten Kenyans have been reported missing in combat or killed in action during the war.
“The Russian authorities have confirmed ten Kenyans are reported to be missing in action or killed in action and have requested details of their next of kin to facilitate compensation,” the cabinet secretary stated.
Last month, reports revealed that over a thousand Kenyans have been recruited to fight on Russia’s side in the war in Ukraine, about five times higher than earlier official estimates.
How Kenyans are lured into the fighting in the Russia/Ukraine war
According to investigations and diplomatic remarks, young Africans, many of whom come from countries experiencing significant unemployment and economic misery, most notably Kenya, are being lured to Russia or Ukraine with promises of well-paying civilian positions, security tasks, or educational opportunities.
Recruiters are reported to typically target unemployed people, police officers, and former military personnel by offering bonuses of up to 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,309) and a monthly salary of roughly 350,000 shillings ($2,715).
However, upon arrival, others have had their passports confiscated and been coerced or bullied into signing military contracts, which are frequently written in Russian or legal language that they do not fully comprehend.
Social media ads, informal agents, and shadow networks are frequently utilized in recruiting, with claims of incomes far beyond local standards, sometimes accompanied by incentives such as residence or citizenship paths.
In certain cases, counterfeit passports and transit routes across foreign countries were reportedly used to secretly relocate recruits.
