Foreign minister seeks answers on Russian conscripts
Hundreds of Africans have likely died fighting for Russia. The family of one of them wants their son back. And answers.
ROBERT AMALEMBA IN KAKAMEGA
KENYA’S FOREIGN Minister Musalia Mudavadi plans to visit Moscow after the deaths of Kenyans who had been enticed to Russia with promises of well-paying jobs. They were reportedly sent to the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war.
The ministry estimated 200 Kenyans had been lured to Russia by November 2025, Mudavadi’s press secretary, Jacob Ng’etich, told The Continent. Josephine Omwoma is struggling to come to terms with the death of her son, Erastus Mundia, 38, who left Kenya in October 2025 after being promised a sales job in Russia.
The family last spoke to Mundia on 20 November. After repeated calls, they contacted the agent who had facilitated it all, who claimed Mundia might be in an area without network coverage. Then a friend called with devastating news: Mundia had died in uniform.
“It crushed my heart. I cannot sleep…All I want is closure,” Omwoma told The Continent from her home in Lugari, Kakamega. “I want the government to bring his body – and those of others who died there – back to Kenya for burial.”
The family has made several trips to the ministry of foreign affairs seeking to repatriate his body. Last week, Ukraine reported the death of two Kenyans – Ombwori Denis Bagaka and Wahome Simon Gititu – who reportedly died after being recruited to fight for Russia from Qatar.
A list published by French investigative outlet All Eyes on Wagner includes 10 more Kenyans among 317 Africans who reportedly died fighting for Russia in the Ukraine war. That list doesn’t include the three men named in this story, suggesting casualties could be higher.