Cost of Russian war in Ukraine: 84 Kenyans dead or missing as US report raises recruitment scandal

By  Hilary Kimuyu

Correspondent

Nation Media Group

At least 84 Kenyans hired to fight for Russia in its war on Ukraine have been killed or remain missing in action, Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told Parliament.

He spoke as allegations of official complicity in the recruitment of Kenyans into the Russian military come under fresh scrutiny.

Mr Mudavadi, also the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary, told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that Nairobi had records of 354 Kenyans involved in the conflict, laying bare the human cost of a recruitment crisis that has left families searching for missing relatives and demanding answers.

The disclosures come amid renewed scrutiny following the US Department of State's 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, which raised allegations that some Kenyan officials colluded with recruitment agencies and Russian government officials to facilitate the recruitment of more than 1,000 Kenyan men into the Russian military.

The allegations raise questions about who recruited the men (there is no report of a woman recruited to fight although earlier reports had showed some women scientists from Africa were helping research on war tech), what they were promised and whether public officials tasked with protecting Kenyans helped facilitate their deployment to a foreign battlefield.

Mr Mudavadi said 77 Kenyans remained on the front line, 38 were in camps, 52 were in unknown or unclassified locations and 34 were hospitalised.

Another 62 had been repatriated, five were prisoners of war in Ukraine, one was in detention and one had completed a military contract.

The 84 reported dead or missing in action represent two distinct categories, with the government cautioning that it cannot confirm deaths without reliable evidence.

"We cannot verify whether the person is dead or not. So we have to use the term missing in action," Mr Mudavadi said.

"Because if we say they are dead, then we are obligated to produce the body. But we don't have that record, so the person is missing in action."

The figures, compiled from information obtained through Kenya's diplomatic missions and affected families, could change as more cases are verified.

When Mudavadi toured Moscow in April, he said Russia and Kenya had agreed to halt any new recruitment into the army. But Russia also said those already contracted to fight must serve their terms of recruitment.

At the centre of the crisis are allegations that Kenyans seeking work abroad were lured by promises of lucrative civilian jobs, only to end up in military service.

Accounts from former recruits and their families describe offers of employment as security guards, drivers, construction workers and technicians, often accompanied by attractive salaries and joining bonuses.

Some recruits reportedly discovered after arriving in Russia that their jobs involved military service. Others have alleged that their passports were confiscated, they were pressured into signing contracts they did not understand, and they were sent to the battlefield after limited training.

The US report has raised concerns about alleged cooperation between some Kenyan officials, recruitment agencies and Russian government officials in facilitating the movement of recruits.

If substantiated, the allegations would extend the scandal beyond rogue recruitment agents to possible misconduct by public officials.

"When those entrusted with protecting citizens become complicit in their exploitation, accountability is no longer optional; it is a moral and institutional imperative," the report states.

The allegations, however, do not establish individual criminal liability or prove that the Kenyan government as a whole directed the recruitment.

The Russian Embassy in Nairobi has previously denied that Russian authorities engaged in illegal recruitment of Kenyans to fight in Ukraine, maintaining that foreign nationals can voluntarily enlist in the Russian armed forces.

Investigators now face the task of establishing who recruited the men, what they were promised, how their travel was facilitated and whether any officials knowingly assisted recruitment involving deception or coercion.

The government's figures have also raised questions among families desperate to establish the whereabouts of relatives who travelled to Russia and later lost contact with them.

During the parliamentary proceedings, petitioners claimed that 841 Kenyans remained unaccounted for, a figure substantially higher than the government's verified records of those reported dead or missing.

The two figures are not directly comparable. The petitioners' estimate concerns people whose whereabouts they say remain unknown, while the government's tally covers Kenyans across several categories, including those still serving, hospitalised, repatriated or detained.

Mr Mudavadi acknowledged the difficulties in tracing some recruits, saying several had travelled without informing either their families or the government of their plans.

"Some of the people that we are dealing with left even without informing their own families where they were going, let alone informing the Government of Kenya," he said.

"So we are chasing after the event. These are the painful truths. But they are our citizens, we still have to look for them."

The government must now contend with the challenge of tracing citizens who may have travelled through unofficial channels, obtaining reliable information from a country at war and identifying the networks that facilitated their recruitment.

Kenya has moved to curb further recruitment through diplomatic engagement with Moscow.

Following Mr Mudavadi's visit to Russia in March, the government announced that Russia had agreed to place Kenya on a military recruitment "Stop List" and halt further enlistment of Kenyans through its Defence Ministry.

"The Embassy of Kenya in Moscow has since confirmed that no additional Kenyan nationals have been enlisted in the Special Military Operation following the implementation of the Stop List," Mr Mudavadi said.

The two countries also agreed to facilitate consular access, support the repatriation of remains and allow Kenyans seeking to leave the military to request disengagement from their contracts.

But the measures do not automatically secure the release of those already deployed or establish whether the recruitment networks have been dismantled.

Mr Mudavadi said requests to terminate military contracts would be considered individually by commanders of the relevant Russian military units.

Kenya is also engaging Ukrainian authorities over the five Kenyans held as prisoners of war, with the government pursuing their release through diplomatic channels and exploring possible prisoner exchanges.

The Cabinet Secretary said Kenya lacked the military capacity to enter the war zone and rescue its citizens, leaving diplomacy as the principal route to their return.

"Our mission is to help as many Kenyans as possible, who may be on the front lines, to come back home. And we really wish that we can have more coming home alive, rather than dead," he said.

A central question is whether the Kenyans who ended up fighting for Russia knowingly and voluntarily enlisted or were victims of human trafficking.

The distinction has significant legal and humanitarian implications. Recruitment through fraudulent job offers, deception or coercion for exploitation raises different concerns from freely choosing to enlist in a foreign military.

Mr Mudavadi told Parliament that the circumstances surrounding the recruitment of some Kenyans could fall within the definition of international human trafficking under the Palermo Protocol.

The government wants Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine to be considered potential trafficking victims during negotiations over their release and repatriation, a position that could help them access appropriate international assistance.

It also places the spotlight on recruiters and intermediaries accused of deceiving jobseekers, rather than treating every affected Kenyan as someone who knowingly chose military service.

The allegations of official involvement make investigations particularly consequential. Authorities must establish whether any public officers facilitated recruitment, improperly processed travel documents, ignored warning signs or benefited from the networks.

The allegations alone, however, are not proof of individual guilt.

Mr Mudavadi also disclosed that Kenya has no dedicated government fund for rescuing and repatriating citizens caught up in foreign conflicts.

"There is no law, no fund, that is designated for this," he said, adding that Parliament had not allocated money specifically for such interventions.

A proposed legal framework would establish a welfare fund to support future rescue and repatriation efforts, subject to parliamentary approval.

For affected families, the funding gap adds to the uncertainty over missing relatives, access to consular assistance and the return of survivors and remains.

The government says it continues to provide updates, help trace missing citizens and coordinate repatriation and burial arrangements.

But families are still demanding answers about relatives who remain unaccounted for, the circumstances of their recruitment and any compensation for which they may qualify.

The latest figures expose the scale of the crisis. The larger test for the government is whether it can establish the fate of missing Kenyans, bring home those who can safely leave military service and hold accountable anyone found to have facilitated trafficking.

For families still waiting for news, the demands are immediate: establish the truth, trace their loved ones and bring home those still alive.

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