Dogs of war: How Kenyans are lured, smuggled into Russia

Joblessness, the thirst for big money and free education, and online presence are making Kenyans easy bait to be dogs of war for Russia against Ukraine.

It now emerges that the problem of desperate Kenyans being lured to fight abroad might be bigger, as more are feared to have been.

Just this month, a Ukrainian Embassy official said that at least four Kenyans were among many foreign nationals recruited by Russia to fight on the battlefront, raising fears that many more could have been enticed into the mission.

And now, from the arrest and arraignment of Edward Gituku on Friday and the exit of a Russian embassy employee, Mike Lyapin, same day, it now emerges that Kenyans are being targeted to go fight on the Russian front-line against Ukraine.

On Wednesday, in an intelligence-led operation, detectives from the DCI’s Transnational Organised Crime Unit, backed by other security agencies, raided Great Wall Apartments in Athi River where 21 Kenyans were found being processed for travel to Russia.

The Saturday Standard established that Lyapin was arrested in connection with a syndicate and was due for deportation.

Lyapin, who had been in the country since March 2016, was arrested on Thursday evening and booked at Muthaiga Police cells. 

Sources familiar with his arrest said: "The guy is in the process of being deported."

It emerged, however, that Lyapin left the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 14.13 hours via Air Arabia, Airbus A320 destined for Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), before taking the next flight to Russia.

Liyapin is allegedly linked to a recruitment racket in the country and is said to have opted to leave the country when security agencies zeroed in on him.

For starters, a simple online search of Africans in the Russia-Ukraine war will bring dozens of sad stories of youths being lured to Russia with a promise of employment or scholarship.

Closer home, some 25 men who are said to have been housed in Kitengela, on transit to Russia, claimed that the promise of at least Sh250,000 a month was dangled as a ticket for them to leave their motherland.

After arresting Gituku, the police said that two Kenyans had recently come back to the country from Russia, and one of them is admitted at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

According to police sources familiar with the matter,  the operations took place just a few hours before some of the victims could travel to Russia, allegedly to be recruited as soldiers in Ukraine.

The officer said that the numbers may be much more than 25.

Some of them had ready travelling documents that included passports and Visas when they were rescued.

Their phones were also confiscated during the operations to aid in the ongoing investigations into the suspected human trafficking syndicate.

It also emerged that some of those rescued from the Athi River houses could be ex-police and soldiers. The majority are civilians, all Kenyan nationalities from various parts of the country.

The interviewee said they had paid money to an agents for them to help them get a military job in Russia.

The majority however said they had been accommodated in the apartments for more than two days before their rescue.

“I have been here since Friday last week. A friend connected me, saying I could get a well-paying job in Russia. I didn't know it would turn out like this. He said that if we made it there, we would be getting about Sh250,000 as a basic salary,'' said one of the victims. 

The man said he paid Sh50,000 alongside medical fees and was instructed on where to go for accommodation awaiting his travel to Russia.

He said he was among those whose documents were ready and were to travel on Wednesday night before the police struck.

"We were preparing to leave the country for Russia when the detectives came knocking on our doors. We were actually signing documents as past touches, " he said.

Detectives from the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) on Friday arraigned Gituku before the Kahawa Magistrate’s Court, seeking time to investigate the saga.

 Senior Principal Magistrate Mwanamkuu Sudi allowed the officers to detain the man for 10 days as they probe a suspected human trafficking ring.

“It is 10 days, so prayer has been granted, so the mention is September 6, 2025,” said Sudi.

In this case, the prosecutor Kevin Kamau argued that the investigations were complex and police therefore do not need to rush while investigating the matter.

“The extent of the investigations is quite extensive. We are currently pursuing other persons who are involved in this, and we believe the respondent is likely to jeopardize the integrity of the investigation,” said Kamau.

In an affidavit, the investigating officer Sergeant Bramwel Saima, said that Gituku is the tenant of several rented houses in Great Wall Garden estate, where the victims were found.

“The officers gained entry into several houses at Great Wall Gardens in Athi River, which were two and three-bedroom houses, and managed to rescue 22 Kenyan nationals suspected to be victims of human trafficking.”

In the house, police recovered several passports, a mobile phone, among other items.

Saima said that Gituku is suspected of working with several other suspects who remain at large.

“One of the victims who had been trafficked to Russia is currently hospitalised in Kenya and he's set to undergo a surgery medical procedure after returning from Russia.” He said.

Prosecutor Kamau added that if not detained, Gituku was likely to interfere with potential witnesses in the matter, including the victims who had been rescued.

While addressing the Magistrate, Gituku said; “To this honorable court, I wanted to request if there is a possibility of the investigation to be hastened, as per the request by the prosecution, I would say seven days, kindly.”

Gituku was arrested on Wednesday night with police saying that Kenyans are tricked that they will get job in Russia but end up fighting for the country.

Police said that the victims had signed lucrative contracts with an unnamed company that bound them to pay Sh1.6 to 2.3 million for visa, travel, accommodation and logistics.

“Those who fail to pay within 35 days are charged a one per cent daily penalty. Some of the victims indicated that they had already paid deposits ranging from Sh50,000 to Sh100,000 upon being promised a salary of two hundred thousand Kenya Shillings.”

Gituku will be held at the Muthaiga Police Station until Friday, October 3, when the case will be mentioned.

Outside court, when lawyers Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombeta came to court, the matter had already been concluded.

The two decried the manner in which the case had been handled, saying their client had been held at the Buruburu Police station.

Omari and Ombeta said that they had been told that he would be taken to JKIA, Kibera, Makadara, Milimani and Kiambu before later learning that he had been taken to Kahawa.

“On Monday we will file a petition at the Kiambu High Court to review the days that police had been granted,” said Omari.

Ombeta said that their client had been denied access to legal services and that his production in court, he should have had a lawyer representing him.

The two said that Gituku is just a casual worker adding that the 21 men found in the house were not minors and that it wasn’t against their will.

In the meantime, the victims were said to be on transit to Russia where they were promised military jobs when detectives came calling.

The detectives smoked the victims and their alleged hosts from three different houses converted into Airbnbs located in different apartments but within the same location on the outskirts of the Athi River Township.

[Reports by Fred Kagonye, Kamau Muthoni and Peterson Githaiga]