Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has revealed that at least 16 Kenyans have been reported missing in action in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations on Thursday, April 2, Mudavadi said 252 Kenyans have been enlisted to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary also noted that 38 others remain hospitalised after being injured in Ukraine, while two are prisoners of war.
“Under the current status of investigations into the reported deceptive recruitment of Kenyan citizens, I wish to respond as follows.
“Until yesterday, we had 10 Kenyans who had been reported missing in action. This number has now increased. We have a figure of 16 Kenyans,” said Mudavadi.
According to Mudavadi, several Kenyans recruited to fight for Russia transitioned through third-party countries, particularly in the Middle East, before finally moving to Russia.
“Some of these people did not leave directly from Kenya. They were moving through third-party countries. So you would find that some had regular security jobs in the Middle East. Then from the Middle East, they moved directly to Russia,” Mudavadi stated.
Further, Mudavadi said the Kenyan mission in Moscow has so far rescued 47 Kenyans and facilitated their safe repatriation home.
“There are about 1,000 Kenyan nationals living and working in Russia, including around 300 students. If the mission has helped 47, we can appreciate how lean the team is,” he added.
This comes weeks after Mudavadi visited Moscow and held a meeting with Russian officials seeking to stop the recruitment of Kenyans into the Russian military.
