Kenya accuses russia of illegally recruiting citizens for the war
Kenya has accused russia of large-scale recruitment of its citizens for the war against Ukraine. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, announced a visit to moscow to demand an end to this practice.
▫️ russia’s recruitment of foreign nationals has long become systemic in nature. Most recruits from African countries have no military experience and are deceived into signing contracts under the promise of legal and well-paid employment.
▫️ However, after signing the contracts, they are sent to the most dangerous sections of the front line. It has been reported that of four Kenyans who recently returned from the front wounded, one believed he would work as a shop assistant, two as security guards, and the fourth as a professional athlete. Overall, more than 30 Kenyans have been evacuated from russia over the past two months.
The kremlin uses the recruitment of foreign nationals as a way to compensate for battlefield losses and to avoid social tensions within russia. Such actions directly contradict the kremlin’s propaganda narrative in Africa. While russia portrays itself as an alternative to the “colonial West” and speaks of “respect for Africa,” in reality it is exploiting Africans as a resource for its war of aggression against Ukraine.
