Russia begins process to compensate kin of Kenyans killed in Ukraine war

Denis Bagaka and Simon Gititu were lured into the war while working in Qatar for private security firms. [Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence]

The many questions by Kenyan families that have lost relatives in Russia’s war against Ukraine may now find answers after the Russian government owned up to the loss suffered by respective families and has started the process of compensating them.

The State Department for Diaspora Affairs has said it has received, through the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow, requests from Russian authorities for next of kin details of 38 Kenyans confirmed as victims of the ongoing war.

Among the 38 are Kenyans killed on the war frontlines while fighting for Russia and others are described as Missing in Action.

Responding to enquiries by The Standard, Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roselyn Njogu said in a statement that Kenyans who enlisted in the war signed contracts with the Government of the Russian Federation.  

“Consequently, any compensation arising from loss of life, or injuries sustained in the course of duty strictly rests with the employer; the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation,” she said

It is emerging that the seed that birthed the process of compensation for families that have been affected by the war came from the meetings by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi during his official visit to Russia in March this year (2026).

Mudavadi met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and they reached a mutual agreement for the two countries to expedite the compensation process to the affected families through diplomatic channels. The department now says.

“The State Department for Diaspora Affairs through the Kenya Embassy in Moscow, has received thirty-eight (38) requests from the Government of the Russian Federation requiring next of kin details of victims killed in the war, or Missing in Action. This information is critical in facilitating and processing the compensation claims” Said Njogu in a statement sent to The Standard adding that the compensation will be disbursed directly by the Russian authorities to the duly appointed family representatives.

While matters relating to compensation fall within the jurisdiction of the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Department for Diaspora Affairs, working with Kenya’s mission in Moscow, has been working to facilitate communication and coordinate the transmission of relevant documentation and information between Russian authorities, and the affected families to support the compensation process. The Standard has learned.

Already, several families have told to The Standard that they have been contacted and asked to submit details of the next of kin at the department’s offices in Upper Hill, Nairobi. The family of Charles Mutoka, who is the father of Oscar Khagola, who was killed on the battle front only three months after leaving Kenya for a job in Russia, submitted the required documents.

Oscar served in the Kenya Defence Forces before he left in pursuit for greener pastures.

Meanwhile, Peter Kamau who lost his younger brother to Russia’s war in February this year, told The Standard that he has not been contacted over the compensation issue by the department.

For Grace Gathoni, whose husband Martin Mburu Macharia was the first Kenyan that Ukrainian authorities formally announced his death on the war front while fighting for Russian in Ukraine, remains worried.

“When I visited the Diaspora Department for the last time in April, they told me that the name of my husband was not on the list” She said and added “But my colleagues who have been looking for their relatives have been asked to forward next of kin details”

“There is currently no official diplomatic communication confirming the demise of Mr. Martin Macharia”. Said the department in response to our enquiries about Macharia.

“However, his family notified the State Department for Diaspora Affairs regarding unverified reports of his death on the frontline”.

The department said it has initiated a formal verification protocol through the Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Moscow. The Kenyan Embassy in Moscow has since written to the Russian authorities requesting an official status update on Mr. Macharia, and is awaiting feedback. Said the department.

“The family will be updated immediately upon the receipt of officially verified information through the appropriate diplomatic channels”.

Unlike Oscar who was a former KDF soldier, Macharia was a matatu driver plying the Nairobi- Ruaka route. It was in his endeavor to find better opportunities that he was enlisted by one of the agencies that have since been deregistered and left Kenya in October. Soon after getting to Russia, he began to frantically reach out to his relatives back in Ruaka through WhatsApp and letters that he had sent to Kenya’s Embassy in Moscow looking for a way out.

Macharia also shared a copy of the contract written in Russian, a language he could not read.  He however, said that his understanding with the agency and agents was he was to perform jobs in normal security services, cooking, or driving. He had, however, discovered that the actual assignment involved being issued with a firearm and deployed to the warfront in Ukraine.

On November 30, 2025,  Ukrainian authorities shared information about his death on the frontline which included his passport, a picture of his dead body and a Russian Army Identity Card. Sources within Ukraine’s defense department told The Standard that his body was locked up in what they described as ‘kill zone’ and couldn’t be retrieved.