A Kenyan athlete’s trip to Russia turned into a life-threatening ordeal after he was tricked into military service he never sought.
Evans, who has devoted over ten years to athletics, traveled as a tourist but was deceived into joining the Russian army and later captured by Ukrainian forces.
“I joined the Russian military not knowing I was being recruited. I have never been in the military and I have never wanted a military job. I went there as a tourist and spent two weeks, but after I had one day left before I returned, the man who received me ask what I thought of Russia and I said it was good. He asked if I would like to stay. I said yes, but my visa had expired,” Evans explained in a video seen by Radio Generation, recounting how his plans unexpectedly turned dire.
He said a contact offered to assist with his visa but handed him documents he could not understand.
“He came in the evening with documents written in Russian; I didn’t know it was a military job. He told me to sign and took my passport and phone and that is how everything went wrong,” Evans said.
Evans was transported for seven hours to a military camp where his objections were dismissed.
“You already signed the documents; you cannot go back. You either serve or get killed,” he was told. After just a week of basic training, he was deployed to the frontline alongside other foreign recruits.
“I’m not the enemy of Ukraine. I found myself in a situation I could not get out of and I was fixed because I didn’t know what I was signing. It messed my life,” he said. Determined to survive, he removed his uniform and spent two days navigating dense forests to reach Ukrainian forces.
“I walked into their camp after spending two days running… If I went back to the Russians, they would have killed me. I walked to them with my hands raised, they tied me, took me to their camp and they fed me, gave me water. They (Ukrainian Defenders) are good people. In Russia they probably think I am dead,” Evans said, underscoring the stark differences he experienced between the two sides.
Central to Evans’ ordeal is his 16-year-old daughter, who lives with his mother. “I’m an athlete. I have been in athletics for over 10 years. I don’t want Russia; I will die there. I have a daughter who is 16 years… She needs me,” he said, describing himself as a single parent desperate to return home safely.
His experience comes amid allegations that Russia has lured unsuspecting Africans with promises of employment, only to force them into military service.
Russia has denied such claims, but Evans’ story reflects the very real human cost of deception in conflict zones.
