Translated material
The head of the Kenyan Foreign Ministry wants to discuss with the Russian Federation the recruitment of Kenyans into the army
Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi intends to negotiate with the Russian authorities and urge them to stop the recruitment of Kenyans into the Russian army to participate in the war against Ukraine. He said this in an interview with the BBC.
The Kenyan government estimates the number of country citizens recruited by Russia at 200 people. The exact number of Kenyan citizens who took or are taking part in the war on the side of Russia remains unclear, since none of them, as Current Time notes , officially enlisted in the Russian army.
Musalia Mudavadi called the practice "unacceptable." According to him, this is “an unfortunate episode in the positive and cordial relations between our two countries.”
He said Kenya's engagement with Russia would focus on curbing illegal recruitment practices, including discussions on visa policies and bilateral labor agreements that exclude conscription.
Kenyan authorities, as Mudavadi said, have already closed more than 600 recruitment agencies that promise citizens of the country work abroad. According to Bloomberg, Kenyans in Russia were promised jobs as truck drivers or security guards.
“We helped 27 Kenyans return home from the front line, where they thought they would do other work, but in the end they were drawn into hostilities,” Bloomberg quoted Kenya’s foreign minister as saying in a statement on February 10. According to him, he plans to “visit Moscow to emphasize that this phenomenon must be stopped.”
It is unknown how many Kenyans died in the war against Ukraine. Relatives who contacted the Russian embassy in Nairobi for clarification told the BBC that they were being refused admission. "Families we've spoken to say they can't bury their loved ones because their bodies are still elsewhere," Musalia Mudavadi said. "It's difficult because, remember, it depends on where the body was found. Some have been found in Ukraine - we're also working with the Ukrainian government to try to repatriate the remains of those people."
In November 2025, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga reported that at least 1,436 citizens from 36 African countries were fighting in the ranks of the Russian army. These are the ones who have been identified, so there may actually be more.
According to him, Russia recruits citizens of African countries using various methods: some are offered money, others are deceived. “Signing a contract is tantamount to signing a death warrant,” he noted. “Most of them are immediately sent to so-called “meat assaults”, where they are quickly killed. The Russian command understands that there will be no responsibility for a killed foreigner, so they are treated as second-class, expendable human material. Most mercenaries do not live more than a month.”
The head of the Kenyan Foreign Ministry wants to discuss with the Russian Federation the recruitment of Kenyans into the army