As Mudavadi met Lavrov, Russia sent trapped Kenyans to the frontline

Uncertain about the deals to be signed between Russia’s Foreign Secretary and his Kenyan counterpart and that they could lead to repatriation of Kenyans trapped on its war frontlines, Moscow’s defence ministry quickly set in motion a secret plan to deploy trapped Kenyans to the thick of battle, The Standard has learnt.

In what appears to be a way to fully exploit Kenyans duped into war as well as evade any successes that the Prime Cabinet Secretary’s Musalia Mudavadi’s trip to Moscow would have scored, the Russian Military resolved to dispatch more than 500 Kenyan men to the frontlines on a day Sergey Lavrov and Mudavadi were meeting in Moscow; Tuesday, March 16.

The Prime Cabinet Secretary’s office, however, yesterday dismissed the reports as propaganda aimed at distracting it from focusing on peacefully resolving the matter through diplomatic channels.

“We do not believe that Moscow would have done that yet we had an understanding.”

Several returnees who have spoken to The Standard whose identities we have promised to protect because of their own safety said most of their colleagues are no longer reachable as was before.

One of the returnees who, since his opening up to The Standard, we have referred to him as Javan, told us that most of his colleagues in Russia who had been sharing experiences with him via WhatsApp have gone silent. They are no longer reachable.

Javan said that from the time the media both local and international, exposed the matter, reporting problems that Kenyans were facing in Russia, the Russian military quickly set in place measures which included denying all Kenyans in the war the opportunity to access phones and anything that would link them to relatives back home in Kenya.

“While I was there, commanders would allow you to access a phone after an operation on the battlefield.” Javan said and added, “When I got injured and found my way to the hospital on my own, I was allowed to access my phone, and that is how I managed to get in touch with Kenya’s embassy in Moscow. Today, no Kenyan is being allowed to access any phone.”

Javan said that the only former colleagues that he has been accessing are the ones in hospitals. “They tell me that many Kenyans are dying now; they have been taken directly to the frontline.”

A list in our possession shared by Peter Kamau, the spokesman of families that have come together to push for the return of their relatives from Russia, indicates that majority of their relatives who previously shared messages of distress with their families back home have gone silent.

The list of 70 families indicates that the last time some of them contacted their families was January 23.

Alex Kanyago Waceke, for instance, contacted his sister Leah Waceke for the last time on January 21. It is interesting that Alex was one of the few Kenyans who were duped into joining Russia’s war in December, at a time media had increased reporting the unfortunate incidents emerging from the frontlines. He left the country on December 7. After January 21 Alex has not been reachable and the family lives in uncertainty.

For Haward Odhiambo Moro, his communication with his wife Caroline Auma came for the last time on January 23. From then on, his whereabouts have been unknown and efforts to reach him via WhatsApp as before have been futile.

Of the 70 families on the list that we have, 57 have had communications with their relatives in Russia but it all ended between September and January 23. Majority had their contacts cut. At-least 8 families had their contacts ended in December, 16 families in November, 14 families in October.

Of the families, only 4 are certain that their relatives had been killed in war; they are Susan Khandasi Kuloba, who learned of the death of her son David Shitanda Kuloba on the frontline in October 2025.

Hannah Wambui, who was informed of the death of her husband James Kamau Ndungu in July 2025. Sherry Olendo was informed of her husband Oscar Khagola’s death in January. Khagola was killed after being dispatched on the frontlines from the Rostov on Don Military barracks.

Jacob Njehia also learned of his relative Kelvin Njehia’s death much later after losing communication with him on October 28. Kenyans that are  trapped in Russia’s war are very many, in-fact the claims by the ministry of Foreign Affairs that there are only 252 men who are supposed to be repatriated back home is not correct” said Kamau who has been speaking for the 70 families “Our own links with Moscow which the Foreign Ministry may have missed is that there are thousands of Kenyans in that war.”

Our sources within Ukraine’s department of defense said following the visit to Russia by a Kenyan delegation led by Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and the agreements reached regarding consular access to Kenyan citizens, Russian military leaders seriously fear that the Kenyans will avoid participating in combat operations and will be repatriated home as has already happened with citizens of India, China, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.

“Since significant funds had already been spent on recruiting, transporting, and training such a large number of foreign nationals, the Russian Ministry of Defense had no intention of simply letting the Kenyans go”. Said a Kyiv-based source adding, “The decision they made was a simple and familiar one for the Russian military: to send the troops to the front lines as quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has launched an online campaign with messages to whichever African soldier serving in Russia’s war frontlines, intending to win over majority of Kenyans who have been dispatched to the frontline.

Through a call I want to live shared through digital spaces, including social media. The campaign invites all Africans that have found themselves on the frontlines and are willing to surrender to do so by contacting the Ukrainian Army. On its website the campaign reads;

 “I want to live” is a governmental project of the Coordination Headquarters of the treatment of prisoners of war established with the support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and Defense Intelligence of Ukraine

The project is intended for servicemen of the Russian armed forces willing to voluntarily surrender into captivity in Ukraine rather than serve on the war front for Russia.

The call says; “You are not alone – several thousand servicemen have already saved their lives by surrendering voluntarily. It doesn’t matter why you ended up in this war — whether you believed Russian propaganda, were looking for money, or were tricked into fighting. You still have a chance to save yourself and return home alive. Submit a request to voluntarily surrender through the “I Want to Live” project, and we will help you.”