Foreign Affairs
PS Korir
Sing’Oei when
he appeared
before the
National
Assembly
Defence,
Intelligence
and Foreign
Relations
Committee in
Parliament
/EZEKIEL AMING’A
The mystery of how Kenyans are being recruited into the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine war has deepened, after the Russian Embassy in Nairobi denied involvement of its nationals in the recruitment ring.
The Embassy, in a press release, denied any links to the recruitment, saying it had not received any official information from Kenyan authorities regarding any claims against Mikhail Lyapin or his activities.
However, reports on Friday indicated that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations arrested Lyapin in connection with the recruitment ring to the Russian military and was questioned at Muthaiga police station.
DCI claimed he was an employee of the Russian embassy, a claim the mission denied.
“Contrary to the reports of a number of media outlets, Lyapin has never been an employee of Russian governmental bodies and does not work at the Russian Embassy in Nairobi.”
The Embassy acknowledged Lyapin was questioned by the DCI in Nairobi, but only about his business activities, saying he has since left the country.
“In the evening of September 25, 2025, Kenyan law enforcement officers escorted Mikhail Lyapin, a citizen of the Russian Federation, to one of Nairobi offices of the Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in order to question him about his business activities in the country. Upon completing all necessary procedures, in the afternoon of September 26, Lyapin, in accordance with his previous plans, left Kenya," the Embassy said in the statement.
The denial came hours after Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’Oei announced the rescue and repatriation of three Kenyans trapped in the conflict.
“Pleased to inform of rescue and repatriation of three Kenyans: Shaquille Wambo, Pius Mwika and Derick Njaga by our Mission in Moscow. The three are safe and on their way home to their families. Our Mission and our teams at headquarters are doing what we can to address the situation of those captured as prisoners of war. I thank Ambassador Peter Mathuki and the team,” Korir said on X.
While Korir did not explain how the men ended up in Russia or Ukraine, a recent raid in Athi River led to the discovery of 21 Kenyans being processed for travel to Russia, which is now emerging to be a wider network. Security officers seized recruitment materials, travel documents, and job offer letters during the raid.
Additionally, sources indicate two returnees were injured in the war and are currently hospitalised. Following the raid, Edward Gituku was arrested and charged at Kahawa Law Courts.
The court granted the police 10 days to detain him at Muthaiga police station to conclude their investigations. But in a shocking remark that points to a wider and deeper network of the recruitment, Gituku’s defense team, led by lawyer Danstan Omari said the company that Gituku is involved in had already facilitated the travel of more than 1,000 Kenyans to Russia without encountering any complications.
Omari claimed the suspect told him that his company has a contract with Russian military forces.
“They have a valid contract signed by the government of Russia to recruit ex-military officers who have exited the Kenyan military and have been discharged and given a certificate to show they have been cleared by KDF. They have liability; they have no pending issue.
“This company is one among many others that are doing this job in Kenya and in Africa. In total, there are more than 27,000 ex-military people in Africa working in the Russian military,” Omari said.
He added that his client was involved in the relocation of former Kenyan military personnel, all possessing official documentation allowing them to travel for military-related activities in Russia.
Among the conditions is that the recruits must be qualified, be between 26-43 years old, have left KDF without any disciplinary issue, certificate of good conduct, a medical test in a public medical institution, a physical fitness test and proof of Kenyan citizenship.
The defence team, which includes Cliff Ombeta, said there is no specific Kenyan law that criminalises the recruitment of civilians into foreign military service.
“There is no provision in the KDF Act that prohibits ex-KDF staff from getting jobs elsewhere. What is going on in this matter is similar to what is happening with former military or police officers who go to work for UN agencies,” Omari added.
The lawyers further claim that every individual recruited through the agency had access to a contact office in Russia, known as the Allahason Office, which was established to handle grievances. To date, no formal complaints have been lodged through that channel, they said.
“Therefore, our client was in lawful business; there’s nothing strange about it. We shall be moving to court on Monday to bring to the attention of the High Court that this is a person who was recruiting people, willingly going for a job. And lastly, no civilian can qualify for this programme, so there is no civilian who has been recruited to go to Russia. All these people are ex-KDF officers. That is the truth,” Omari noted.
The recruits earn between Sh285,000-Sh300,000 per month and a lump sum of Sh2 million upon arrival in Russia, he added.
Upon consent, Omari said, the recruits are kept in residential apartments awaiting visa processing.
The issue came into the limelight after a long-distance runner Evans Kibet, 36, was arrested in the frontline by Ukrainian forces.
He claimed he was tricked into the war while in Russia for a trip. In October 2022, Tanzanian Nemes Tarimo, 33, was killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
