Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei has confirmed that at least four Kenyans are being held as prisoners of war in Ukraine after allegedly fighting on the side of Russia.
In a statement posted on social media on Saturday, September 20, Sing’Oei said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Kenyan Mission in Moscow, is already handling the matter following reports by the BBC that one Kenyan had been captured.
"We are keenly following information on three or four Kenyans allegedly trafficked to Russia and currently held as POWs by Ukraine," Sing’Oei said.
"We shall provide additional information. In the meantime, we assure the families that our Mission in Moscow and our teams at HQ are pursuing the matter with all diligence."
One of the captured Kenyans has been identified as Evans Kibet, whose video was released last week by Ukrainian media. In the footage, Kibet pleaded with his captors not to send him back to Russia, saying he had been misled into joining the Russian army.
"I ended up in Russia without knowing that I had been enlisted in the Russian army. I had never served before. I did not go to Russia for that,” he said. "I did not know I was being signed up for the Russian army because I have never been in the military and I have never wanted a military job."
Kibet, an aspiring athlete, explained that he had been offered a job by an unidentified man, but on arrival in Russia, he realised he had been trapped into military service. He said the person who received him confiscated his passport, phone and other documents after persuading him to sign papers.
"After I signed, he took my passport and phone, saying he would return them. From that moment on, other people came for me. They told me to get in the car," Kibet recalled. He was then taken to a training centre where he underwent basic drills before being deployed to a military camp, which he described as chaotic.
According to his account, the conditions were unbearable, prompting him to flee and surrender to Ukrainian soldiers, who gave him food and water.
The Ukrainian government has since confirmed Kibet’s detention, stating that he remains a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention.
On Saturday, officials in Kyiv indicated that they were open to talks with President William Ruto’s administration on the possibility of his repatriation but said he would remain detained unless a court rules otherwise.
The circumstances under which the Kenyans ended up in the Russia-Ukraine war remain unclear, but Kibet’s case has exposed what appears to be a recruitment scam targeting unsuspecting young people.
