Aid Russia war recruits
More than 200 Kenyans may be fighting for Russia in Ukraine after being lured with offers of legitimate jobs or scholarships, only to be conscripted and sent to the frontline.
The most shocking twist to this saga has been the revelation that the jobs and scholarship offers were merely a camouflage to ship the Kenyans to Russia before being spirited to the warfront in Ukraine. Some have been killed and others captured in this foreign conflict that had nothing to do with them.
Now, the names of at least 82 of those recruited, some of whom have died and others injured and desperately hoping to escape from the war zone, have been revealed.
This has turned out to be a deadly job scam into which unsuspecting Kenyans have been recruited by syndicates in this country. Some are said to have been promised security or casual jobs in Russia with monthly salaries of up to Sh300,000, which was quite irresistible.
These Kenyans had forked out agency fees of between Sh70,000 and Sh200,000. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has singled out two Nairobi-based recruitment agencies for carrying out this deadly racket.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs minister Musalia Mudavadi has confirmed that 200 Kenyans may have joined the Russian military since the conflict began in 2022. Most of them had no prior military experience and got only a five-day crash military training before being deployed to the frontline.
This irregular recruitment is a violation of international law prohibiting human trafficking for armed conflicts and a grave threat to citizens’ safety. Some 1,436 citizens from 36 countries are reportedly fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
The government should do everything to rescue those still trapped in the war and sanction the rogue job agencies. The immigration and security agencies must enhance vigilance, particularly at airports, to prevent recruitment by fraudulent agents.
