Kenyan authorities have captured a suspected human trafficker accused of deceiving job seekers with false promises of skilled work in Russia. Instead, over 1,000 Kenyans ended up fighting on Ukraine's front lines, with dozens still missing or hospitalized.
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan authorities have captured a suspect believed to be behind a deceptive recruitment operation that promised skilled employment in Russia but instead sent workers to combat zones in Ukraine.
Law enforcement officials detained Festus Omwamba on human trafficking charges in Moyale, a northern border town near Ethiopia. According to police spokesman Michael Muchiri, Omwamba was attempting to flee the country after recently returning from Russia and will be transferred to Nairobi.
Three Kenyan victims who spoke with The Associated Press had previously identified Omwamba as a key figure in the recruitment scheme. He had disappeared from public view once families began demonstrating over missing and deceased relatives involved in the Ukraine conflict.
Last week, Kenya’s government revealed that recruitment operations had ensnared more than 1,000 citizens to serve in Russia’s military forces in Ukraine. Current estimates show 89 Kenyans remain in active combat, 39 are receiving medical treatment, 28 are unaccounted for, while others have managed to return home. Officials have confirmed at least one fatality.
Parliamentary majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah presented an intelligence briefing alleging coordination between Kenyan and Russian government representatives with fraudulent employment agencies to deceive potential recruits.
Russia’s diplomatic mission in Nairobi has rejected these claims, stating Thursday that no visas were granted to individuals planning to participate in the Ukraine conflict. The embassy added: “The Russian Federation does not preclude citizens of foreign countries from voluntarily enlisting in the armed forces.”
Kenya’s Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi announced on February 9 his intention to visit Russia for what he described as a “diplomatic approach to rein in any dubious entities that are taking advantage of anyone in this misadventure.”
Mudavadi confirmed that diplomatic efforts continue to free Kenyans detained in Ukrainian facilities and bring home those currently in Russia.
“You recall that even at the highest level, the president made an appeal that if indeed there are Kenyans who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, the appeal was made to the Ukrainian government to look at how they can be processed and brought back,” the minister explained.
This arrest represents a significant breakthrough in government efforts to halt the recruitment of Kenyan citizens for the Ukraine war.
John Kamau, a recruit who fled the battlefield and found safety at Kenya’s Russian embassy before being repatriated, told the AP he encountered Omwamba at a Nairobi residence where prospective recruits waited for travel arrangements.
A second recruit, speaking anonymously due to safety concerns, described how Omwamba deliberately avoided written communication, preferring phone calls and face-to-face meetings with potential recruits.
This individual had enrolled believing he would work as a plumber in Russia, but upon arrival, authorities confiscated his passport and sent him to military training before battlefield deployment.
Multiple recruits confirmed that Omwamba managed their tourist visa paperwork and flight bookings, with the entire process from initial contact to departure taking approximately two weeks.
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