What is the story about?
Over 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war for Moscow, an intelligence report from the country said, suggesting that the numbers are five times more than authorities had earlier estimated.
Reading the report of Kenya's National Intelligence Service to lawmakers on Wednesday, Parliament Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah described a network of rogue state officials it said had colluded with human trafficking syndicates to recruit Kenyans to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine.
As per the report, recruiters hired former soldiers and police officers, as well as unemployed people and offered them some 350,000 shillings per month, along with bonuses of up to 1.2 million shillings.
The Kenyans who got drafted in the war initially left their home country on tourist visas and travelled to Russia via Turkey or the United Arab Emirates. However, after authorities tightened restrictions on surveillance at Nairobi airport, the recruits started travelling via Uganda, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Recruitment agencies colluded with rogue Kenyan airport staff, immigration and other state officials, and with staff at the Russian Embassy in Nairobi and at the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow to facilitate the recruits' travel, the report said.
The Russian Embassy in Kenya, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement, the Russian Embassy in Kenya said, "The government authorities of Russia have never engaged in illegal recruitment of Kenyan citizens in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation."
It said it had never issued visas to Kenyan citizens who sought to travel to Russia "with the stated purpose of participating in the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine", adding however, that under Russian law, foreign citizens can voluntarily enlist in its military.
Last year, South Africa said it would be conducting an investigation into how its citizens ended up as mercenaries in the Russia-Ukraine war after the men sent a distress call, urging the government to bring them back home.
The South African government said in a statement that as many as 17 men were lured into fighting in the war on the pretext of lucrative jobs. This phenomenon is not new to India, as several men continue to remain trapped in Ukraine as a result of being duped by Russian agents.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities,” said the statement.
With inputs from agencies
Reading the report of Kenya's National Intelligence Service to lawmakers on Wednesday, Parliament Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah described a network of rogue state officials it said had colluded with human trafficking syndicates to recruit Kenyans to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine.
As per the report, recruiters hired former soldiers and police officers, as well as unemployed people and offered them some 350,000 shillings per month, along with bonuses of up to 1.2 million shillings.
How were the men lured?
The Kenyans who got drafted in the war initially left their home country on tourist visas and travelled to Russia via Turkey or the United Arab Emirates. However, after authorities tightened restrictions on surveillance at Nairobi airport, the recruits started travelling via Uganda, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Recruitment agencies colluded with rogue Kenyan airport staff, immigration and other state officials, and with staff at the Russian Embassy in Nairobi and at the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow to facilitate the recruits' travel, the report said.
What has Russia said?
The Russian Embassy in Kenya, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement, the Russian Embassy in Kenya said, "The government authorities of Russia have never engaged in illegal recruitment of Kenyan citizens in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation."
It said it had never issued visas to Kenyan citizens who sought to travel to Russia "with the stated purpose of participating in the Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine", adding however, that under Russian law, foreign citizens can voluntarily enlist in its military.
South Africa probes illegal recruiting
Last year, South Africa said it would be conducting an investigation into how its citizens ended up as mercenaries in the Russia-Ukraine war after the men sent a distress call, urging the government to bring them back home.
The South African government said in a statement that as many as 17 men were lured into fighting in the war on the pretext of lucrative jobs. This phenomenon is not new to India, as several men continue to remain trapped in Ukraine as a result of being duped by Russian agents.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities,” said the statement.
With inputs from agencies
