Kenyan Recruit Deserts After Forced Combat, Prompting African Governments to Demand Recruitment Halt

Updated 2026-02-04 14:16:55+00:00 (6 articles)

False Job Promises Fueled a Trans‑Continental Scam Recruiters collected roughly $620 from Kenyan man Francis Ndung’u Ndarua and promised an electrical‑engineer position, a $13,000 signing bonus and Russian citizenship, but instead forced him into three weeks of Russian military training and deployment to Ukraine [1]. Investigators examined hundreds of chats, contracts, visas and hotel bookings, finding clauses that bound recruits to open‑ended combat duties, passport surrender and a five‑year service period before any civilian retraining [1]. Contracts were written only in Russian, left training‑cost repayment amounts blank, and imposed travel bans, effectively trapping the fighters in a coercive enlistment scheme [1].

Harsh Front‑Line Conditions Led to Unpaid Wages and Robbery African fighters reported receiving no pay for seven months, while one interviewee described a Russian soldier forcing him at gunpoint to hand over his bank card, resulting in a $15,000 withdrawal [1]. Combat injuries were common; photographer Charles Njoki was sent to the front despite a promised security‑guard role and was later wounded, and deserter Patrick Kwoba sustained injuries from a Ukrainian drone before escaping via the Kenyan embassy [1]. Four comrades of Ndung’u have died, and the lack of support has driven multiple desertions, highlighting lethal conditions on the battlefield [1].

African Nations and Ukraine Call for Immediate Recruitment Halt Botswana, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya publicly acknowledged the recruitment pipeline and urged Russian authorities to cease the practice [1]. Ukraine’s ambassador to Kenya, Yurii Tokar, labeled the flow of African fighters to Russia as “our enemies” and demanded its termination [1]. The coordinated diplomatic pressure underscores growing regional concern over the exploitation of African citizens in the Ukraine war [1].

Sources

1.
CNN: African Recruits Say Russia Misled Them Into Ukraine War: investigative report exposing continent‑wide recruitment scams, detailing false promises, forced conscription, unpaid wages, robberies, injuries, desertions, and the political backlash from African governments and Ukraine’s ambassador .
2026-02-04 14:16:55+00:00

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Timeline

2022 – Russia launches a full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, prompting Moscow to broaden conscription, recruit prisoners and later seek foreign fighters to replenish its ranks, a shift that underpins today’s recruitment scandals. [5]

Early 2022 – A new Russian law authorises the Defense Ministry to draft convicts and pre‑trial detainees, a practice later championed by Yevgeny Prigozhin and used to expand the manpower pool. [5]

Late 2024 – Bangladeshi labor brokers advertise janitor and cleaning jobs in Russia; men such as Maksudur Rahman pay up to 1.2 million taka (≈ $9,800) and travel to Moscow believing they hold legitimate civilian contracts. [4][6]

December 2024 – Upon arrival, the migrants are shown Russian‑language enlistment papers they mistake for cleaning‑service agreements, sign them, and undergo three days of weapons, drone‑warfare and basic combat training before being sent to a border barracks. [4][6]

January 2025 – Bangladeshi police release a report linking the now‑defunct agency SP Global to a trafficking ring that channels workers into Russian military service; investigators estimate roughly 40 Bangladeshis have died in the conflict. [4][6]

August 2025 – 22‑year‑old Kenyan David Kuloba departs Kibera after a local agency promises $7,000 on arrival; he is photographed in a combat uniform and later disappears following a voice note sent on 4 October. [2]

4 October 2025 – Kuloba’s last communication is a voice note; Russian authorities give no confirmation of his fate, leaving his family in limbo. [2]

November 2025 – A Russian decree makes military service mandatory for certain foreign residents seeking permanent status and offers fast‑track citizenship to those who enlist, tightening the recruitment pipeline. [5]

2025 – CNN and partner investigators review hundreds of chats, contracts and visas, uncovering continent‑wide scams that promise $13,000 signing bonuses, up to $3,500 monthly salaries and Russian citizenship but deliver forced conscription and contracts written only in Russian. [3]

2025 – Ukraine’s ambassador to Kenya, Yurii Tokar, calls the flow of African fighters to Russia “our enemies” and urges African governments to halt the recruitment pipeline. [3]

2025 – Botswana, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya publicly acknowledge that their citizens are being funneled to Russian forces and call for an end to the recruitment networks. [3]

2025 – Kenya’s foreign minister confirms that about 200 Kenyan nationals are known to be fighting for Russia, suspends licences for implicated recruitment agencies and drafts new legislation to tighten oversight of overseas‑work brokers. [2]

December 2025 – NATO estimates the war’s toll in the millions, with thousands of Russian and foreign combatants killed in that month alone, underscoring the human cost of Moscow’s expanded recruitment drives. [1]

13 January 2026 – Syrian recruit Omar tells BBC that Telegram recruiter Polina Azarnykh promised “a non‑combat role” for $3,000 but sends him to the front after only ten days of training; he reports threats from commanders when he refuses missions. [1]

27 January 2026 – Bangladeshi escapees recount being forced to transport supplies, evacuate wounded and dig bunkers under threats of ten‑year jail; a commander tells them, “Your agent sent you here. We bought you.” [4][6]

27 January 2026 – Regional authorities in Khanty‑Mansi announce enlistment bonuses up to $50,000, tax breaks and debt relief to offset manpower shortfalls, while the November decree ties fast‑track citizenship to military service for foreign residents. [5]

27 January 2026 – Activist Anton Gorbatsevich describes foreign recruits as “dispensable, to put it bluntly,” and Idite Lesom warns that contracts presented as one‑year terms automatically extend indefinitely, trapping conscripts. [5]

4 February 2026 – CNN‑backed investigation reveals African deserters such as Patrick Kwoba flee after being told “escape or die,” while others report robbery, unpaid wages and five‑year service clauses that bind them to combat abroad. [3]