Kenya arrests recruitment agency chief accused of sending Africans to fight for Russia in Ukraine

Kenyan authorities have detained the head and founder of Global Face Human Resources, a recruitment agency accused of sending Kenyan citizens to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine. Police allege that Festus Omwamba recruited Kenyans under the guise of offering them civilian jobs in Russia.

As reported by AP News, Omwamba was arrested in the northern town of Moyale, near the Ethiopian border. Police spokesman Michael Muchiri said Omwamba attempted to flee the country after returning from Russia. On Feb. 26, he was taken to Nairobi and charged with human trafficking. The case is being heard in an anti-terrorism court. Investigators say at least 25 people were sent to Russia through Omwamba’s operation last year.

Earlier in September, police carried out a raid in Nairobi and found 21 young men in a rented apartment who were preparing to fly to Russia, as noted by AFP. One employee of Global Face Human Resources, Edward Gituku, was charged with human trafficking and released on bail. Investigators say he played a key role in organizing the departure of those who were recruited.

During the investigation, Kenyan authorities also mentioned a Russian citizen, Mikhail Lyapin, who they linked to the recruitment scheme. In September, Lyapin was taken to Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations for questioning and later left the country. The Russian Embassy in Nairobi said Lyapin is not a government employee and left Kenya in accordance with a previously planned trip, stressing that his rights were not violated.

The Kenyan government said last week that more than 1,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Of these, it said at least 89 were still on the front line, 39 were hospitalized, and 28 were listed as missing in action, while others had returned home. Nairobi has confirmed only one death of a Kenyan citizen.

Three recruited Kenyans who spoke with the Associated Press described Omwamba as the coordinator of the scheme. They said they were promised skilled jobs, such as plumbing work, but upon arrival in Russia their passports were taken and, after receiving cursory military training, they were sent to the front. Recruitment took place in Nairobi, where candidates were housed while tourist visas and tickets were arranged through the organizers.

An intelligence report presented to parliament by Kenyan majority leader Kimani Ichung’wa says representatives of both Kenyan and Russian structures may have been involved, working together with unscrupulous employment agencies. The Russian Embassy in Nairobi previously denied the allegations, saying it did not issue visas to people who intended to travel to Russia to take part in combat. However, the mission stressed that Russia “does not rule out the possibility of foreign citizens voluntarily joining the armed forces.”

Kenya’s foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, told the AP on Feb. 9 that he intends to visit Russia for diplomatic consultations as part of an effort to stop the activity of “any dubious entities that are taking advantage of this misadventure.” He said Nairobi is also seeking the return of Kenyans who ended up in Ukrainian prisons and the repatriation of those who are in Russia.

Omwamba’s arrest marks the first high-profile detention in Kenya’s campaign to stop the recruitment of its citizens as soldiers in the war in Ukraine.

In December, Kenyan authorities said 18 citizens recruited in Russia to take part in the war had returned home, and local media reported that some of them had suffered serious injuries. They were among more than 80 Kenyans who had sought help from the country’s embassy in Moscow. The government has revoked the licenses of more than 600 employment agencies suspected of sending Kenyans to Russia under the guise of work, and it has said it is in talks with Ukraine about freeing Kenyans who were taken captive on the battlefield.

The Insider has previously reported on the stories of African men lured into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine under false pretenses. Watch our video report below.