Musalia Mudavadi (l.) and Sergei Lavrov on March 16 in Moscow: Kenya’s foreign minister took a stand against Russia’s recruitment of Kenyans for the Ukraine war. image: imago / Alexey Nikolskiy
Russia’s military is luring thousands of foreigners into war under false pretenses. Now the Foreign Minister of Kenya is defying his counterpart Lavrov.
Mar 19, 2026, 5:16 a.mMar 19, 2026, 5:16 a.m
Nilofar Breuer / t-online
Ukraine has been complaining for months that Russia is recruiting mercenaries in Africa for the war in its neighboring country. Now the Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi has agreed for the first time in Moscow that no more men should be recruited from his country. The extent of Russian recruitment has sparked outrage in some African countries.
Kenya alone says more than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight, lured by monthly salaries of several thousand dollars and bonuses of more than $6,000. The Kenyan government condemns the use of its citizens “as cannon fodder” in Ukraine.
When Mudavadi expressed concern in Moscow this week about “Kenyans who have been voluntarily or involuntarily recruited into the Russian military,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov initially dismissed the idea. “All citizens of Kenya and other countries are taking part in the special military operation voluntarily, in full compliance with Russian laws,” he said.
But Kenya’s foreign minister achieved success after around four years of war: Moscow said it promised to stop recruiting. Who is the man who stood up to the Kremlin and fought back against Russia’s recruiting tactics?
In Kenya, Mudavadi is associated with an “earthquake.”
Born in 1960, Mudavadi is not only Kenya’s foreign minister, but also Kenya’s highest-ranking cabinet minister. He is the son of Moses Substone Budamba Mudavadi, an “old guard” Kenyan politician. His own political career began in the late 1980s. In 2002 he briefly had a chance to become president. But the then incumbent President Daniel arap Moi did not choose him as the presidential candidate of the ruling party KANU, but Uhuru Kenyatta. He ultimately lost to Mwai Kibaki from the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).
When it comes to foreign policy, Mudavadi is always diplomatic. He wants to position Kenya in Africa as a regional heavyweight, mediator and economic hub. Just last week, he also declared in London that he wanted to realign the country’s foreign policy in order to respond to a changing world order. He outlined a strategy that would protect Kenya’s national interests while strengthening Africa’s voice in world politics.
Johann Wadephul in Kenya: The German Foreign Minister met Mudavadi in January 2026. image: imago / thomas koehler
Mudavadi stressed that Kenya remains committed to neutrality and diplomacy in the face of global conflicts, including the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, and called for de-escalation, protection of civilians and strict compliance with international law. The Kenyan warned that continued instability in the region could affect global trade and energy supplies, particularly if sea routes such as the Strait of Hormuz remain blocked. This would have significant economic and security consequences for many countries, including African ones. He also stated that Kenya is ready to contribute to building a more stable international system.
Mudavadi stands up to Lavrov
Now Mudavadi’s agenda apparently also includes standing up for Kenyan fighters in the Russian war of aggression. Given that Ukraine has been drawing attention to Russia’s recruitment of Kenyans since September 2025, the move comes quite late. However, the issue is certainly sensitive for Kenya. On the one hand, Mudavadi praised the relations with Moscow, including the Soviet recognition of Kenya’s independence from Great Britain in 1963. On the other hand, he emphasized that an agreement had been reached according to which Kenyans were no longer allowed to volunteer for combat.
“There will be no further recruitment,” he said. He added that they would also take care of those Kenyans who need help in Russia.
So many Kenyans are apparently fighting for Putin
It is unclear exactly how many Africans are fighting in Ukraine. The government in Kiev speaks of more than 1,700 Africans fighting on the Russian side. However, analysts expect the number to be even higher.
The issue had not previously been discussed publicly. But now there are open debates in individual countries: “We are under great pressure from some of the affected families, who are now gaining more and more courage to speak out and talk about the problem,” admitted Mudavadi. A Kenyan intelligence report presented to MPs in February said more than 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine – five times as many as authorities had previously estimated.
Russia’s recruiting practices abroad
People on the other side of the front – in Ukraine – claim to know how widespread the phenomenon of foreign soldiers in the Russian army is. In total, more than 24,000 foreigners are said to have signed contracts with the Russian army since the Russian invasion in 2022, the Ukrainian military intelligence service told the German Press Agency upon request. The majority, 70 percent, come from Asian countries, mostly from the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. A little more than seven percent or around 1,780 mercenaries are from African countries.
Kenyan politicians described a network of corrupt state officials working with human trafficking rings. People are often said to have been offered lucrative civilian jobs through third parties before they suddenly had to go to the front in Russia. That sparked outrage in countries like Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
The families are demanding a stronger commitment to the recruits’ homecoming. But African governments have so far been careful not to openly take sides in the war in Ukraine – they don’t want to anger Moscow, partly out of gratitude that the Soviet Union used to support many domestic independence movements.
Kenya’s foreign minister turns to “superpower” Russia
Before his trip to Moscow, Mudavadi said he wanted to proceed “pragmatically and realistically”. Russia is a “superpower” with which Nairobi has long-standing relations. In February, Ghana announced that more than 50 Ghanaians had been killed in the Ukraine war after being “lured into combat.” Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa told Reuters the actual number could be higher. He also said that this had to end.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa (archive photo): The Ghanaian politician from the National Democratic Congress has, among other things, been the country’s foreign minister since 2025. image: imago / kirill Chubotin / avalon
However, most African governments are likely to follow the cautious approach of South Africa, which is also affected. “We are investigating the circumstances under which people left the country,” Zane Dangor, director general of the South African foreign ministry, told Reuters. “The investigation will also clarify whether the Wagner Group was involved,” he said, referring to the Russian mercenary force that was active in Africa and was later replaced by the Kremlin-affiliated Afrika Korps.
Dangor said the evidence so far does not indicate Russian state involvement. This is not surprising: South Africa is an ally of Russia as part of the Brics states and, despite pressure from the Federal Republic, has never taken the side of the invaded Ukraine.
“We believe we are only scratching the surface”
But the topic is now spreading more widely. Inpact, a Geneva-based organization that has investigated Russian recruitment networks, has verified several lists of recruits it received, including one detailing 1,417 citizens from Africa. Cameroon, Egypt and Ghana were among the countries with the most recruits, according to a report published in February. The recruitment of Africans is the core of a targeted strategy to increase the number of soldiers to overrun the Ukrainian defense lines with waves of attacks, Inpact said. Russia had already deployed several thousand mercenaries from North Korea.
“We believe we are only scratching the surface with these numbers,” said Lou Osborn, a member of Inpact. Since the report was released, more than 40 families have contacted the organization and confirmed its recruitment methods, he said. Ghana’s Foreign Minister Ablakwa announced that he would address the issue with other African countries as a continental problem.
Pier Pigou, senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, describes the difficulties in this endeavor. The motive is easy to understand: most of the recruits were simply trying to earn a living. “And because their countries do not allow them to do this, they will (…) take advantage of the opportunities that arise,” he said.
The Edison Kamwesigye case
Carol, the wife of Edison Kamwesigye from Uganda, describes what these recruitment methods actually look like. He also believed the words of an employment agent. He told the 47-year-old Ugandan about the possibility of working as a driver or security guard in Russia. According to Carol, the agent took him to the Russian embassy along with other men from the East African country and helped obtain visas.
A few days later she received a disturbing call. “He said these people are sending us to war,” she says. He said: “Pray for us – we don’t know whether we will come back alive.”
It was the couple’s last conversation. Just weeks after Kamwesigye arrived in Russia, other Ugandans reported that he had died in fighting in Ukraine. Carol Kamwesigye could only say a symbolic farewell in front of an empty coffin.
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