Mudavadi clashes with petitioners over Kenyans trapped in Russia-Ukraine conflict

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and the petitioners, on behalf of families of Kenyans who are trapped in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, have clashed over the number of citizens who are involved in the international crisis.

Mudavadi, who appeared before a joint sitting of the Senate National Security and Senate Labour Committees, said that his office has documented 354 Kenyans involved in the conflict, while the petitioners representing the affected families said that they had documented 841 citizens.

He told the joint sitting co-chaired by Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo and Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was dealing with figures that had been verified and that he was not disputing the figures given by the petitioners but they were subject to verification.

“Russia is the size of half the African Continent; the war is happening thousands of kilometres from Moscow. The numbers of Kenyans that we can confirm are involved are 354; however, the numbers could be even more than the 841 figure given by the petitioners since most of them did not register with the embassy,” said Mudavadi.

He said that out of the 354 Kenyans he can account for, 62 of them have been repatriated so far, 84 were killed or missing in action, 77 were on the frontline, 54 were in unknown locations, 38 were in camp, 34 were hospitalised, 5 are Prisoners of War, one was in detention, and one had his contract completed.

Mudavadi said that it has been noted that families tend to engage with the State Department for Diaspora Affairs often after communication with their relatives in the Russian Federation has been disrupted or ceased; we encourage families to engage the Department as soon as possible.

He told Senators that upon receiving a request from a family, the Department obtains the necessary identification details of the reported Kenyan, including information on when they travelled and the contacts of their next of kin, with the cases then escalated to the Kenya Embassy in Moscow for verification.

" During my official visit to Moscow in March 2026, we secured Kenya’s inclusion on Russia’s “Stop List,” effectively preventing further enlistment of Kenyan nationals in the special military operation. The visit also addressed consular access and the voluntary disengagement of Kenyans from military service, subject to applicable contractual arrangements,” said Mudavadi.

He told Senators that the Embassy of Kenya in Moscow has since confirmed that no additional Kenyan nationals have been enlisted in the Special Military Operation following the implementation of the Stop List and that the Russian authorities have advised that requests regarding the termination of military contracts are considered on a case-by-case basis by the respective military unit commanders.

Mudavadi said the Russian authorities have additionally advised that the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation is unable to meet the cost of repatriating mortal remains of deceased Kenyan nationals and that his Ministry continues to engage the Russian authorities and the affected families to facilitate appropriate burial, cremation or repatriation arrangements on a case-by-case basis.

The State Department for Diaspora Affairs engaged the Kenya Embassy in Vienna (accredited to Ukraine) on the detention of Kenyan nationals in Ukraine and necessary follow-up and action and the mission subsequently engaged the Embassy of Ukraine in Vienna and the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kenya in Ukraine.

 “The Honorary Consul made a consular visit to the “Zakhid 1” prisoner-of-war camp in Ukraine and reported that detainees in the camp are held in humane conditions, have access to medical services and are treated in accordance with applicable rules governing the treatment of Prisoners of War. In response to our Mission request, the Embassy of Ukraine in Vienna informed, vide Note Verbale, on September 3, 2026, that five Kenyan nationals are currently being held in Ukraine,” said Mudavadi.

He said that in the case of Kenyans held as prisoners of war, many of whom report having been recruited under false promises of employment, it is proposed that, while negotiating their repatriation, consideration be given to their designation as victims of international human trafficking, with a view to revoking their Prisoners of War tag to better meet the international standard for access to assistance.

Mudavadi told Senators that this is supported by the fact that the circumstances of their recruitment and conscription are consistent with trafficking in persons as defined under Article 3(a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Protocol), which Ukraine has ratified

“It should be noted that President William Ruto has personally engaged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the matter of Kenyans being held as Prisoners of War in the country through a telephone conversation and we expected it to be resolved soon,” said Mudavadi.

He said there was considerable progress towards accreditation of Kenya’s Ambassador to Ukraine so as to enhance timely and effective interventions and follow-up with the Agreement having been received from Kyiv, paving the way for the issuance of Letters of Credence from Nairobi.

Peter Gitau, who is the lead petitioner, appealed to the Senate to conduct an inquiry into the recruitment, transportation and deployment of Kenyan nationals into the armed forces of the Russian Federation and into the adequacy of the State’s response, and in so doing, receive evidence from affected families and from returnees.

Gitau said that the petitioners were appealing for the Senate to compel the relevant ministries and agencies to reconcile their records and compile and regularly update a verified, disaggregated national register of affected Kenyan nationals - distinguishing those confirmed alive and in contact.

The petitioners want the government ministries to provide records of those deployed at the front line; held in camps or bases; injured or hospitalised; detained or held as prisoners of war; missing or missing in action; reported deceased but not independently confirmed; confirmed deceased; returned or repatriated.

“We would like the government ministries to provide records of those whose contracts have ended but who remain abroad and of unknown status - the case-level register being supplied confidentially to the appropriate parliamentary and investigative authorities and used to give individual updates to families, with aggregate statistics, methodology and progress made publicly available,” said Gitau.

The petitioners called for the establishment of a family liaison mechanism within the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, with a named senior officer, individual case reference numbers and written status updates to families at defined intervals, reporting periodically to the Senate.

They called for coordinated diplomatic engagement with the Russian Federation, with Ukraine and with the International Committee of the Red Cross for the tracing of affected Kenyans, humanitarian access, and communication between held persons and their families.

They sought clarification of the status of every person held, and the release and repatriation of Kenyans, including persons whose contracts have expired; and that affected families be consulted before, and briefed after, any such engagement concerning their relatives.

“We are appealing for the facilitation of the voluntary return of living Kenyans, with individual assessment, medical care and protection on return; that every returnee be individually screened for indicators of trafficking, coercion and deception before any prosecution decision is made”, said Gitau.

They called for the establishment of procedures for death verification, identification and the treatment of remains - including DNA support, notification standards and prior consultation with families - with repatriation of remains where recoverable and with no cremation, burial abroad or other irreversible disposition without lawful authority, verified identification, prior notification and meaningful consultation with the next of kin.

The petitioners called for structured assistance to affected families and returnees, including psychosocial care, medical treatment, legal assistance, reintegration support and access to victim-support mechanisms.

They called for the investigation of recruitment agencies, brokers, financial beneficiaries and any public or diplomatic officials reasonably suspected of facilitation or obstruction, with due respect for proceedings pending before the courts.

“We are calling for the identification and preservation of wages, accounts and benefits due to affected persons, and assistance to affected persons and their lawful beneficiaries in establishing and exercising any rights to those funds, together with clarification of the legal basis, eligibility criteria and procedure for any compensation offered to families,” said Gitau.

The petitioners want a review of the regulation of foreign labour recruitment, including licensing and vetting by the National Employment Authority, the control of recruitment advertising, verification of overseas job offers and employment visas, pre-departure safeguards, airport controls and public warnings.

They requested that the responsible Cabinet Secretaries report to Parliament quarterly on tracing, status verification, repatriation, diplomatic engagement, investigations, prosecutions and support to affected families.

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