Government faces rising costs in rescuing Kenyans stranded abroad

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi before the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations on April 2, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

The Kenyan government is grappling with increasing financial pressure to rescue and repatriate citizens stranded in conflict zones and foreign detention centres.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told senators on Thursday that emergency interventions rely entirely on taxpayer funding approved by Parliament.

Appearing before the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, Mudavadi said limited resources were constraining the government’s ability to respond to crises involving Kenyans abroad.

“There is no free money available for this intervention. It is Kenyan taxpayers’ money. We cannot enter into an enterprise where people voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way and always expect others to be their underwriter,” he said.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei questioned whether the ministry has adequate funding to manage rising cases, citing escalating crises in the Middle East and Asia.

“How much do you need for this mission because we have seen this in the Middle East and internet slavery in Cambodia,” he asked, to which Mudavadi replied that the government has sought an additional Sh400 billion from Parliament to prepare for possible evacuations and rescue missions in the event of worsening global conflicts.

He said operational challenges also hinder responses, noting that some diplomatic missions are understaffed. In Russia, where dozens of Kenyans are believed to have joined military operations, he said the embassy is operating with limited personnel.

“The Kenyan Embassy in Russia has only six staff, the ambassador and five other officers. The rest are locally recruited.”

The Foreign Affairs CS added that distance also complicates rescue efforts, noting that some  conflict zones are hundreds of kilometres from capital cities. “The frontline where there is conflict is between 500 to 800 kilometres away from Moscow. It is not a neighbourhood,” he said.

According to Mudavadi, many of the affected Kenyans travel voluntarily, often through third countries, sometimes after being misled about job opportunities.

“We came to understand that the majority of these people signed voluntarily, though some may have been caught in deception.”

He added that tracking such cases is difficult, as some individuals use tourist visas or falsified documents, while others return home and attempt similar journeys again.