A total of 1,000 Kenyans are believed to have been recruited to fight alongside Russian troops against Ukraine, the BBC reported, citing a Kenyan intelligence report.
The broadcaster said the report details a network of rogue officials allegedly colluding with human trafficking syndicates to sell Kenyans as mercenaries.
The report was submitted to Parliament last Wednesday by Kenya’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), the BBC reported, adding that 89 Kenyans were on the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war as of February this year.
At least one Kenyan has died, while several others have returned home injured or traumatised, it added.
But NPR (National Public Radio), a Washington-based broadcaster, reported on February 21 that two Kenyans had been killed on the frontline and that 28 were missing in action.
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It added that 89 Kenyans remain on the frontline while 39 had been hospitalised.
According to NPR, at least 30 Kenyans have been repatriated since December after leaving the conflict, with many recounting harsh battlefield conditions.
Some of those missing or feared dead are former Kenya Defence Forces personnel, it said.
NPR quoted Parliament majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah as saying officials in both Nairobi and Moscow played a role in sending Kenyans to the frontlines.
“More telling is the collusion by officers at the Russian Embassy and the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow,” Mr Ichung’wah told Parliament, according to NPR.
“Our ambassador in Moscow must be able to identify the officers within the embassy that may have colluded with these criminals.”
The BBC reported that NIS detailed how recruitment agencies had allegedly been colluding with rogue Kenyan airport staff, immigration officers, officers at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), anti-narcotics officers and National Employment Authority officials to facilitate recruits’ travel.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OUR READERS OFTEN ASK
The Russian embassy in Nairobi dismissed the allegations as “dangerous and misleading”, saying its staff has never been involved in “rogue schemes” or engaged in illegal enlistment, according to the BBC.
In a statement released on February 19, the embassy added: “At no point in time throughout the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has the Embassy ever 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. Nor has the Embassy been encouraging any Kenyan citizen to do so.”
According to the BBC, the embassy added that while it does not recruit foreigners, Russian law allows foreign nationals who are legally in Russia to voluntarily enlist in its armed forces.
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