Faith Nyasuguta
A Kenyan recruitment agent has been arrested and charged over claims he lured young men with promises of jobs in Russia – only for some to end up fighting on the front lines of the Ukraine war.
Festus Arasa Omwamba (Pictured), 33, head of Global Faces Human Resources, is accused of recruiting 22 Kenyans “for the purpose of exploitation by means of deception,” according to prosecutors. Authorities say the men believed they were securing legitimate overseas employment. Instead, investigators allege, they were being funneled into a network that could have delivered them straight into a foreign battlefield.
Police rescued the 22 men in September from an apartment complex in Athi River, near Nairobi, just before they were due to travel. However, at least three others had already left Kenya. Prosecutors say those men later returned home injured after being deployed to fight in Ukraine. Omwamba has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The arrest has intensified scrutiny over what officials describe as a growing and deeply troubling pipeline. A recent report by Kenya’s National Intelligence Service estimates that up to 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia since the war began four years ago. Presenting the findings to parliament, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah described a “deeply disturbing” network allegedly involving rogue state officials colluding with trafficking syndicates to recruit and transport young men abroad.
According to police statements, the rescued recruits had signed contracts with an unnamed overseas employment agency and agreed to pay up to $18,000 for visas, travel, accommodation and logistics. For many, the promise of foreign work – and the chance to escape unemployment pressures at home – proved persuasive.
Intelligence officials claim that once in Russia, some recruits receive minimal military training before being deployed to combat zones. The Kenyan government has since indicated it will formally urge Moscow to ban the recruitment of Kenyan nationals into the conflict.
The Russian embassy in Nairobi has denied actively recruiting Kenyans or issuing visas to individuals intending to join what it calls the “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine. It maintains that while it does not recruit foreigners, Russian law allows foreign nationals legally present in the country to voluntarily enlist.
The controversy extends beyond Kenya. Ukraine’s foreign minister recently stated that more than 1,700 Africans from 36 countries have been recruited to fight for Russia. South Africa confirmed this week that two of its citizens have been killed in Ukraine, while others have returned home with severe injuries.
For Kenyan authorities, the case is no longer just about one suspect. It is about dismantling alleged recruitment channels that blur the line between overseas opportunity and entry into one of the world’s most dangerous conflicts.
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