Kenya is negotiating with Ukraine for the return of five of its citizens held as prisoners of war after fighting on the side of Russia. President William Ruto has discussed the case with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi told lawmakers in Nairobi.
Kenya is insisting that the five men be recognized as victims of international human trafficking, not treated solely as prisoners of war. According to Mudavadi, they were lured with promises of work and subsequently ended up in the Russian army.
“The circumstances surrounding their recruitment and entry into the army bear the hallmarks of human trafficking“, said Musalia Mudavadi.According to the Kenyan minister, the detainees claim to have been “recruited through false promises of work“. Among the civilian jobs listed are working as drivers, security guards or cooks. The youngest of the five Kenyans in the Ukrainian camp is 23 years old.
Botswana also wants its citizen
Botswana is also demanding the return of its citizen detained in a Ukrainian camp. The country's Foreign Ministry raised the issue with Bloomberg, indicating that it is working to repatriate him.
The Zimbabwean government has meanwhile expressed concern about fraudulent practices in cross-border recruitment. In a statement, the authorities warned that some of the people recruited were sent to the front lines without prior military training. The text did not explicitly name Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine reports thousands of foreign fighters
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia has recruited more than 28,000 foreign citizens from 135 countries to participate in the war. More than 5,000 of them have died, and fighters from 51 countries have been captured by Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine is holding at least 213 foreign prisoners of war, not counting citizens of Russia and North Korea. Of these, 37 are African. Russia has not publicly acknowledged the use of foreign mercenaries and maintains that it has sufficient manpower for the war.
Kenya's data
Mudawadi also reported that about 84 Kenyans have died or are missing, while another 34 are being treated in Russia. So far, Kenya has repatriated 62 of its citizens who participated in the war.
The main dispute surrounding the five detainees is whether they were voluntary participants in hostilities or were recruited through fraud. This also depends on how the issue of their return from Ukraine will be raised.
Sources: news.bg, the-star.co.ke