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The Russian embassy in Nairobi has, for the first time, spoken about illegal recruitment of Kenyan citizens into Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The embassy spoke at a time when Russia’s image in the country had slid into the territory of a serial abuser of human rights. So far, about 35 families whose kin were secretly recruited to fight in the ongoing offshore war have demanded their loved ones be brought back.
The families made the call after submitting a formal petition to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, also Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs. They also submitted another petition to Labour and Social Protection CS Alfred Mutua and their respective principal secretaries, the National Assembly of Kenya, and the Senate.
The petitions sought urgent parliamentary oversight, comprehensive status reporting, enhanced consular access, and accelerated repatriation efforts.
The families allege their loved ones were enticed by false employment opportunities and trafficked under fraudulent pretences, leaving them in harm’s way or detained abroad.
“These networks indeed promised high salaries, bonuses, and even Russian citizenship to lure recruits, only for many to be redirected into military training and frontline deployment by force and some at gunpoint,” said Peter Kamau, a family member.
In a press statement, the embassy denied involvement in the recruitment of Kenyans into the war. It said Moscow and the Kenyan government have been in close contact over the matter, but claimed there was a campaign to accuse it and its staff of involvement in rogue schemes of recruiting Kenyans to become combatants in the conflict in Ukraine.
“The Embassy refutes such allegations in the strongest possible terms. Government authorities of Russia have never engaged in illegal recruitment of Kenyan citizens in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” the statement said.
The families had planned to hold a peaceful demonstration and march from Jevanjee Gardens to the Russian embassy and present petitions, but were denied permission by police, who said the notice given was too short.
The families promised to give the police a notice in time to hold the demonstrations on Thursday next week.
They also want Parliament and government to intensify diplomatic engagement with foreign authorities, expand active consular support for detainees and the injured, and pursue criminal investigations against recruitment syndicates and complicit officials.
Russia’s mission in Nairobi, on its part, said at “no time throughout the ongoing crisis in Ukraine did it ever issue visas to Kenyan citizens who sought to travel to Russia with the stated purpose of participating in the Special Military Operation(SMO) in Ukraine.”
The Standard has, however, since told the story of how Kenyans, duped into fighting on Russia’s war frontlines in Ukraine, had been issued with tourist visas from the embassy and found themselves in the army once they reached Moscow.
In its statement, the embassy seemed to inadvertently admit that Moscow's laws allow foreign citizens to be recruited into its army.
“It must be understood that the Russian Federation does not preclude citizens of foreign countries from voluntarily enlisting,” it said.
