Kenyans killed for Russia; Contestations over the number of those killed

Martin Macharia (left) and Peter Kimemia (right) in Russia. [Courtesy]

Of the many ways that Russia’s war on Ukraine has affected the Global South, one is an emerging contest in the country over the number of Kenyans killed while fighting for Russia.

Families seeking relatives lost to Russia have kept increasing as state authorities give accounts that are easily dismissed by rights groups regarding the actual number of Kenyans who have been killed in a war that is not in their motherland.

Returnees who have spoken to The Standard have given experiences from the frontlines of war, citing hundreds of their Kenyan colleagues killed, which confirms what Ukrainian authorities and Western media have described as a meat grinder launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin to end innocent lives in Ukraine, which has now affected other parts of the world, including 40 African countries.

A website launched by the Ukrainian Department of Defence in May, titled Stop Russian Recruiters, which documents and shares information on predatory recruitment practices of the Russian Armed Forces, has published personal data of 59 Kenyans among 485 African nationals killed while serving in the Russian army against Ukraine.

According to the report, Cameroon leads other African countries in losing the largest number of its sons to Russia’s war. The country has lost 104 men. Ghana takes the second position with 85 individuals. Egypt takes the third position with 81 men killed, as Kenya comes in fourth with 59.

With facts sourced from an ongoing project, I want to Live, which was launched in March to help individuals from the Global South being duped into joining Russia’s army, Stop Russia says in its latest report released late June that personal data is available on 2,984 Africans from 40 countries who signed contracts with the Russian Armed Forces

“-Of those, nearly one in six is confirmed killed. The list covers citizens of 29 African countries. Their names have been transliterated from Russian records into English - minor spelling variations may be spotted”.

In Nairobi, Kenyan authorities place the number at 19 killed and 32 missing in action, which places the total number of Kenyans confirmed killed and missing at 51. Rights groups and activists who have been investigating Russia’s exigencies in the country claim that Kenyans killed for Russia are not less than 1000.

A consultant of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission, Frederick Odhiambo, who has been working with families that have lost relatives to Russia’s war, told The Standard on Thursday that many lives of Kenyans have been destroyed in the ongoing war

“Thousands of Kenyans were taken to Russia to fight against Ukraine in different phases beginning in 2023. The families alone that I am in contact with are almost 500 and each is missing a relative. Some speak of three others, one,” He said and added, “the country now has many orphans and widows, young wives who have lost young husbands who went to Russia on a promise of a job that is not in the military with better pay”

Responding to questions from The Standard, the State Department of Diaspora Affairs said, “To date, the Department has received official confirmation from Russian authorities that 19 Kenyan nationals have been killed in Action (KIA). Concurrently, 32 remain unaccounted for and are formally classified as Missing in Action”.

Put together the killed and missing, according to Kenyan authorities, the number inches closer to what Ukrainian authorities have published from the record of identities of all soldiers killed on the frontlines. The Standard, despite accessing the entire list of names, the 59, is only able to list individuals whose families have received confirmation reports of their death.

On the list of 59 Kenyans is Oscar Khagola Mutoka, a former Kenya Defence Forces serviceman whose story was published by The Standard last December. The Standard also interviewed his father, Charles Mutoka, who has wondered, solemnly so, about how his son was deceived by unscrupulous agencies to join the Russian army.

“My son ended up dying for a country that is not his motherland”, He told The Standard on the phone “The department of diaspora affairs has discussed with me about compensation that will come from Russia. But my question is, will that bring back my son? Did he die fighting for his motherland?”

The report by Stop Russia Recruiters captures Mutoka’s pain. It declares that Russia will not tell Africa the names of its sons killed on its soil. “It lists them as missing. It buries them in Russian soil without notifying families or cremates them without asking. It does not repatriate their remains and does not respond to families who ask where their sons and husbands are”.

The report indicates that Oscar was born on October 2^nd 1986, and signed a contract to join the Russian Army on July 7 last year. It does not state how he was killed or from which part of the war frontline, but it indicates that he was Kenyan.

 Other Kenyans on the list confirmed by families are Duncan Otieno, whose family in Kasipul -Homa Bay cried out in January about his disappearance.  His father, Harrison Juma Okeyo, a retired Kenya Defence Forces soldier, said his son left Kenya in April last year (2025) headed for Istanbul after being promised a job in Turkey but ended up in St Petersburg.

Risper Otieno, the wife, begged the government to help bring him back home dead or alive “Hata kama amekufa waniambie tu nimzike. Siwezi kaa hivi tu bila kujua mahali ako (even if he is dead, I ask the government to tell me. Bring him back, I'll bury him. I cannot just live not knowing where he is,” She said.

The report indicates that Duncan signed his Russian contract on 21 June 2025, and his date of birth as 5^th June 1987

Wesley Lugadiru is listed as born on 29 December 1999. His name was among a few that got to the Kenyan embassy in Moscow of Kenyans lured by fraudulent recruitment agencies to work in Russia, but ended up deployed to the front lines of war.

Following the news quoting the embassy, for some time, his status remained unknown. Reports confirmed that Lugadiru was stationed in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, a major military logistical hub for operations starting in June 2025. He is now listed among 59 Kenyans killed.

The Stop Russia Recruitment website came after another online campaign organised by Ukraine’s department of defence, which broke the news of fresh atrocities against Kenyan recruits to Russia’s army when Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi made an official visit to Russia in March.

The campaign was titled I want to live, to stop fresh Russian recruitments in Africa. It sent out warnings to recruitment agencies and gullible jobless youths from the continent about Russia’s intentions.

It was launched following reports that Russia's military command had executed at least five Kenyan nationals who refused to participate in assault operations in Ukraine. That information was published on the "I Want to Live" online project. It was reported that between March 16 and 18, Russian commanders urgently deployed all 518 Kenyan citizens from Russian military camps directly to combat zones in the occupied Donetsk region.  The rushed deployment came immediately after a Kenyan delegation led by Mudavadi visited Russia and secured consular access to Kenyan nationals serving in the Russian armed forces recruitment scheme.

Russian military leadership feared Kenyans would follow the path of Indian, Chinese, Sri Lankan, and South African citizens who managed to avoid combat and secure repatriation. Having already invested significant resources in recruiting, transporting, and training the foreigners, Russia's Ministry of Defence decided on a familiar solution - rush them to the front lines before diplomacy could intervene.

Some of the Returnees who spoke to The Standard admitted that they had been reaching fellow combatants who were still in Russia and said that as of March 16, they were not able to reach them

One of the returnees, whom we have referred to as Javan since his opening up to The Standard last year, we have referred to him as Javan, to protect his identity, told us that most of his colleagues, who had been sharing experiences with him via WhatsApp, went silent from March till now. They have not been reachable.

Javan said that from the time local and international media began reporting problems that Kenyans were facing in Russia, the Russian military quickly set in place measures which included denying all Kenyans in the war the opportunity to access phones and anything that would link them to relatives back home in Kenya.

“While I was there, commanders would allow you to access a phone after an operation on the battlefield.” Javan said and added, “When I got injured and found my way to the hospital on my own, I was allowed to access my phone, and that is how I managed to get in touch with Kenya’s embassy in Moscow. Today, no Kenyan is being allowed to access any phone.”

Ukrainian Department of Defence reported that Mudavadi’s visit triggered mass refusals among Kenyans to participate in combat operations. In response, Russian commanders executed at least five men as a warning to others. The victims will be officially recorded as "killed in action."

The executed Kenyan citizens were identified as Otieno Owaga (born December 5, 1999), Shaban Kalama (April 29, 2002), Aaron Abduyi Nyongesa (November 20, 2001), Abednego Mwenga Mwikya (March 1, 2002), and Abel Kipkosgei Tarus (March 2, 1995).

The names of these individuals are included on the list bearing the names of 59 Kenyans released in late June.