Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, has announced that Russia has agreed to stop deploying Kenyan nationals to fight in the war in Ukraine following discussions in Moscow.
Speaking alongside his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, Mudavadi said both sides agreed that Kenyans would no longer be recruited through Russia’s defence ministry. “They will no longer be eligible to be enlisted,” he stated. Lavrov, however, declined to comment on the agreement and insisted that all foreign fighters had joined voluntarily and “in full compliance with Russian law.”
A February Kenyan intelligence report indicated that over 1,000 Kenyan citizens had been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Some recruits reportedly were lured with promises of well-paid civilian jobs but ended up forced into combat.
Mudavadi also confirmed ongoing efforts to repatriate Kenyans who wish to return home. So far, 27 citizens have been brought back, with authorities providing psychological support to address trauma and facilitate “de-radicalisation.”
The Kenyan government has taken steps to prevent further recruitment, including shutting down over 600 agencies suspected of duping citizens with promises of jobs abroad. Lawmakers have alleged that rogue state officials were cooperating with human trafficking networks to recruit Kenyans for the conflict.
The foreign minister emphasized that Kenya’s partnership with Russia extends beyond the conflict in Ukraine. “We do not want for any reason our partnership with Russia to be defined from the lenses of the special operation agenda only,” Mudavadi said. “The relationship between Kenya and Russia is much more broader than that.”
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that more than 1,700 people from 36 African countries have been recruited by Russia. South Africa recently repatriated 17 citizens who reported being trapped in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being deceived into fighting.
Meanwhile, public pressure in Kenya has grown, with families of citizens believed to be in Ukraine staging protests in Nairobi in February, demanding government intervention and the safe return of their relatives.
