Kenya to press Russia over alleged recruitment of Kenyan fighters

Kenya said it will formally raise concerns with Moscow after its foreign ministry declared that the recruitment of Kenyan nationals to fight for Russian forces was "unacceptable and clandestine." The announcement, made by Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi, followed mounting pressure from families and investigators after several citizens were found among combatants in Ukraine.

The Kenyan government estimates that around 200 nationals were recruited to fight for Russia, though officials acknowledge the exact figure remains unclear and that none of those individuals travelled through official channels. Mudavadi said the government has already moved to curb the networks behind the flow, telling reporters, "Where there are illegal recruitment agencies, we have scrapped them and we continue to scrap them."

Nairobi said more than 600 recruitment agencies have been deregistered or closed amid probes of deceptive job offers that lured young Kenyans with promises of security-sector work abroad. The Diaspora Placement Agency, the government agency responsible for overseas job verification, has tightened vetting procedures, officials said, and Kenyan authorities reported the recovery and repatriation of 27 nationals who had been fighting in or for Russia. Repatriated returnees are receiving psychological support and programs intended to "de-radicalise" them, Mudavadi said.

Families have long complained of being left in the dark. Relatives seeking information said they were turned away at the Russian embassy when they asked about loved ones purportedly sent to combat zones, and pressure has increased after discoveries of bodies believed to be citizens recruited to fight. Mudavadi rejected suggestions the government was to blame for the trafficked recruits, saying, "You cannot blame the government on this," and describing the episode as a regrettable rupture in otherwise cordial ties: "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."

Mudavadi said Nairobi will press Moscow to sign an agreement banning the conscription of Kenyan nationals and that diplomatic engagement will focus on visa policy and bilateral labour arrangements that explicitly exclude military conscription. He added that several repatriated citizens had reported injuries or been left stranded after attempted recruitment into violent conflicts, saying, "Several of them have reported injuries among our nationals and others stranded, following attempted recruitment into the violent conflicts."

Investigations have extended beyond recruiters. Kenyan authorities have linked businessman Mikhail Lyapin to an ongoing probe into illegal recruitment; investigators questioned him before he departed the country on a prearranged trip, while the embassy described the encounter as limited questioning prior to scheduled travel. No public charges have been disclosed in the case so far.

The Kenyan move comes amid broader regional concern about mercenary and recruitment operations. Analysts point to satellite imagery showing new camp-like construction in neighboring countries and upgrades at some regional airfields, which they say could expand the capacity for training or logistics in parts of the Horn of Africa. Those developments, and the human toll inside Kenya, have pushed Nairobi to frame the issue as both a domestic law-enforcement challenge and a bilateral diplomatic priority. Kenya has signalled it will take the matter to Moscow and pursue legal and administrative measures at home to prevent further exploitation of its citizens.