Kinfolk of Kenyan nationals conscripted by the Russian military in Ukraine pose with pictures of their members of the family throughout an indication demanding pressing authorities motion to repatriate their kin, in Nairobi on Feb.19, 2026.
Simon Maina/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
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Simon Maina/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
NAIROBI, Kenya — In Sikonga village, Kisii County, a mom’s wails fill the home. Dennis Bagaka Ombwori, 39, the second-born son of John and Esther Ombwori, is the most recent Kenyan confirmed useless within the Russia–Ukraine struggle.
Villagers collect exterior, providing what little consolation they will, however Esther Ombwori can’t be consoled. Dennis labored as a safety officer in Qatar when recruiters approached him with what seemed to be a greater supply. However his household says he by no means knew what the job actually was.
His brother, Alfred Morara, mentioned the information had shattered the household.
“They weren’t advised which job they needed to do. They have been taken to Russia.” Morara mentioned. “He was recruited as a overseas soldier in Russia. They began preventing for Russia in opposition to Ukraine.”
A whole bunch of miles away in Nairobi, the Ogolla household mourns an identical loss. 32-year-old Oscar Agola Ojiambo vanished shortly after becoming a member of the Russian military final June. Months later, his household continues to be ready for solutions — and for his physique.
“The commanders on the struggle entrance revealed that my son died on 14 August 2025,” says Charles Ojiambo Mutoka, Oscar’s father. “That revelation got here in January this 12 months, however the Russian authorities has not disclosed it to subsequent of kin.”
Charles Ojiambo Mutoka, 72, stands with portraits of his son Oscar, who was killed in Aug. 2025, throughout a press convention in Nairobi on Jan. 27, 2026, the place relations of conscripts known as on the federal government to urgently repatriate their family members.
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Tony Karumba/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
For households just like the Ombworis and the Ogollas, hope is slipping away. A report offered to Parliament on Wednesday by Kenya’s Nationwide Intelligence Service estimates that greater than 1,000 Kenyans are at the moment preventing in Ukraine — far greater than earlier figures.
The federal government says they’re working to establish and repatriate Kenyans caught within the battle, however the scale of the issue is staggering.
In line with the intelligence report, 89 Kenyans stay on the frontline, 39 have been hospitalized, and 28 are lacking in motion.
Since December, a minimum of 30 have been repatriated after leaving the battle, with many recounting harsh battlefield situations. A few of these lacking or feared useless are former Kenya Defence Forces personnel.
In Parliament, the report has sparked alarm, the place lawmakers say they’re shocked by the size of the issue. Majority Chief Kimani Ichung’wah mentioned officers in each Nairobi and Moscow performed a job in sending Kenyans to the frontlines.
“Extra telling is the collusion by officers on the Russian Embassy and the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow,” Ichung’wah advised Parliament. “Our ambassador in Moscow should have the ability to establish the officers inside the embassy which will have colluded with these criminals.”
Opposition MP Joseph Makilap, who pushed for the intelligence report back to be launched, mentioned the size of the recruitment was staggering.
“I’m extraordinarily shocked within the method wherein Kenyans may be truly taken all the best way to Moscow to battle one other sovereign nation known as Ukraine.”
Dr. Korir Sing’Oei, principal secretary on the Ministry of International Affairs, says younger Kenyans are falling sufferer to unscrupulous recruitment networks.
“Some Kenyans have been irregularly recruited to serve inside the context of the continued Ukrainian-Russian battle,” Singoei mentioned. “Sadly, of their want to work overseas, many Kenyans fall sufferer to unscrupulous teams.”
A poster exhibiting a Kenyan conscripted by the Russian military in Ukraine is displayed throughout an indication in Nairobi on Feb. 19, 2026. In line with an intelligence report offered to Kenya’s parliament, greater than 1,000 Kenyans have gone to battle for Russia, most reportedly tricked into signing navy contracts.
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Simon Maina/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
Coaching for recruits is proscribed, in response to the Majority Chief Ichung’wah. “No one within the navy trains folks for 3 weeks. Some have solely 9 days of preparation.”
“They’re mainly given a gun and despatched to die,” Ichung’wah advised Parliament.
The Russian Embassy in Nairobi has dismissed the allegations as “harmful and deceptive,” saying its workers have by no means been concerned in “rogue schemes” or any type of unlawful recruitment.
In a publish on X, the Embassy acknowledged: “At no level through the ongoing disaster in Ukraine has the Embassy issued visas to Kenyan residents in search of to journey to Russia with the acknowledged objective of taking part within the Particular Army Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. Nor has the Embassy inspired any Kenyan citizen to take action.”
In line with the Kenyan intelligence report the recruitment networks contain each Kenyan and overseas actors. Lots of these enlisted journey by way of Uganda, South Sudan, or South Africa to keep away from detection. Others depart safe jobs within the Center East for contracts promising hundreds of {dollars} and the potential of Russian citizenship after a 12 months on the frontlines.
Recruits are promised a month-to-month wage of as much as 350,000 Kenyan shillings ($2,400), with bonuses starting from 900,000 to 1.2 million shillings ($6,200–$8,300).
Throughout the continent, this example is removed from remoted. In November, Ukraine’s Minister of International Affairs Andrii Sybiha, mentioned greater than 1,400 Africans from over 30 international locations have been preventing for Russia — although Kenya’s personal figures recommend which may be a conservative estimate.
Younger males are promised jobs as drivers or safety guards, with salaries ten instances what they might earn at residence. As an alternative, many are despatched to the frontlines.
Kenya’s International Minister is ready to journey to Russia to push for a deal banning the conscription of Kenyan troopers — a mission households just like the Ogollas are pinning their hopes on.
For the Ogollas and plenty of others, it’s greater than a coverage negotiation — it could possibly be a lifeline, providing solutions and a path residence for the a whole bunch of younger Kenyans nonetheless trapped preventing in a struggle that’s not theirs.
