Kin of Kenyan nationals conscripted by the Russian military in Ukraine pose with pictures of their relations throughout an illustration demanding pressing authorities motion to repatriate their kin, in Nairobi on Feb.19, 2026.
Simon Maina/AFP through Getty Photos
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Simon Maina/AFP through Getty Photos
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 battle.
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 gave the impression 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 were not told which job they wanted to do. They were taken to Russia.” Morara mentioned. “He was recruited as a foreign soldier in Russia. They started fighting for Russia against Ukraine.”
Lots of of miles away in Nairobi, the Ogolla household mourns the same loss. 32-year-old Oscar Agola Ojiambo vanished shortly after becoming a member of the Russian military final June. Months later, his household remains to be ready for solutions — and for his physique.
“The commanders at the war front revealed that my son died on 14 August 2025,” says Charles Ojiambo Mutoka, Oscar’s father. “That revelation came in January this year, but the Russian government has not disclosed it to next 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 kinfolk of conscripts known as on the federal government to urgently repatriate their family members.
Tony Karumba/AFP through Getty Photos
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Tony Karumba/AFP through Getty Photos
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 combating in Ukraine — far larger 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 response to 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.
“More telling is the collusion by officers at the Russian Embassy and the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow,” Ichung’wah advised Parliament. “Our ambassador in Moscow must be able to identify the officers within the embassy that may 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 am extremely shocked in the manner in which Kenyans can be actually taken all the way to Moscow to fight another sovereign country called 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 within the context of the ongoing Ukrainian-Russian conflict,” Singoei mentioned. “Unfortunately, in their desire to work abroad, many Kenyans fall victim to unscrupulous groups.”
A poster exhibiting a Kenyan conscripted by the Russian military in Ukraine is displayed throughout an illustration in Nairobi on Feb. 19, 2026. In response to an intelligence report offered to Kenya’s parliament, greater than 1,000 Kenyans have gone to struggle for Russia, most reportedly tricked into signing navy contracts.
Simon Maina/AFP through Getty Photos
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Simon Maina/AFP through Getty Photos
Coaching for recruits is proscribed, in keeping with the Majority Chief Ichung’wah. “Nobody in the military trains people for three weeks. Some have only nine days of preparation.”
“They are basically given a gun and sent to die,” Ichung’wah advised Parliament.
The Russian Embassy in Nairobi has dismissed the allegations as “dangerous and misleading,” saying its workers have by no means been concerned in “rogue schemes” or any type of unlawful recruitment.
In a submit on X, the Embassy said: “At no point during the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has the Embassy issued visas to Kenyan citizens seeking to travel to Russia with the stated purpose of participating in the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine. Nor has the Embassy encouraged any Kenyan citizen to do so.”
In response to the Kenyan intelligence report the recruitment networks contain each Kenyan and international actors. A lot of these enlisted journey via Uganda, South Sudan, or South Africa to keep away from detection. Others depart safe jobs within the Center East for contracts promising 1000’s of {dollars} and the potential for Russian citizenship after a yr 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 combating 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 occasions what they might earn at dwelling. As a substitute, 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 might be a lifeline, providing solutions and a path dwelling for the lots of of younger Kenyans nonetheless trapped combating in a battle that’s not theirs.
