Kenya has confirmed that 19 of its citizens have died while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, as concerns deepen over recruitment networks accused of luring young Kenyans abroad with false promises of well-paid civilian jobs.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told a Senate committee that the number of Kenyans known to have enlisted in the Russian military had risen to 291, up from the previous official figure of about 250. He said 53 recruits had so far been repatriated, while 32 were missing in action and two were being held as prisoners of war in Ukraine.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that the deaths occurred on the front line, underscoring the risks facing foreign recruits sent into one of the world’s deadliest active conflicts. Mudavadi told senators that more information was still emerging about Kenyans enlisted in Russian special forces, suggesting the official count could rise further.
Kenya’s intelligence services have previously estimated that more than 1,000 citizens may have been recruited into Russia’s military, many allegedly through trafficking networks and rogue recruitment agencies. A report presented to parliament said some recruits travelled through third countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates before reaching Russia. Russia’s embassy in Nairobi has denied illegal recruitment, saying foreign nationals may voluntarily join its armed forces.
The revelations have triggered public anger in Kenya, where families of missing recruits have demanded urgent government action. Many say their relatives were promised security, factory or construction jobs, only to be pushed into military contracts and sent to the Ukrainian front line. Similar recruitment claims have surfaced in other African countries as Russia seeks to replenish manpower for its war effort.
Mudavadi travelled to Moscow in March for talks with Russian officials aimed at stopping the enlistment of Kenyans. After meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he said both sides had agreed that Kenyans would no longer be recruited into the Russian army.
Kenyan officials have described the use of citizens in the war as unacceptable. Deputy Foreign Minister Abraham Korir Sing’Oei earlier accused Russia-linked recruiters of treating Kenyans as “cannon fodder.”
The latest figures place fresh pressure on Nairobi to dismantle recruitment networks, secure the return of stranded citizens and demand accountability for families whose relatives were killed, captured or disappeared after being drawn into Russia’s war in Ukraine.
