Kenyans Lured into Russian Military: A Mother's Heartbreaking Quest

Sat Dec 06 2025 13:33:16 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, families in Kenya are grappling with the grim reality of their loved ones being recruited for combat positions under false pretenses.

The story of David Kuloba, who thought he was securing a job as a security guard in Russia, highlights the deception faced by many Kenyans who are lured into conflict. Families are left to mourn, search for answers, and seek justice amidst unclear recruitment practices and the backdrop of war.

David Kuloba's mother warned him about going to Russia after he accepted a job as a security guard advertised by a recruitment agency in Kenya.

At first the family, who live in the Kenyan capital's crowded informal settlement of Kibera had been excited when he said he had found work abroad - it sounded like a rare break.

The 22-year-old had been doing casual labour in Nairobi - from selling groundnuts to construction jobs - and had long hoped to secure work in the Gulf.

But when his mother asked which country he was heading to, his reply shocked her.

He showed me his phone and said: 'Look, it's Russia,' Susan Kuloba told the BBC's Newsday programme.

I told him: 'Don't you see what they show on TV about Russia? It's never good, she recalled.

But her son insisted the offer was genuine, telling her he had been promised more than $7,000 (£5,250) on arrival - a life-changing sum for a young man with no stable income.

Despite her protests, he travelled to Russia in August without telling her the exact date of his departure.

She was shocked when he contacted her later, saying he had arrived and sending a photograph of himself in full combat uniform.

He told me: 'Mum, the job we were told we came to do has been changed, but even this one is not bad,' she said.

Her son explained that he and some other Kenyan men had been given two weeks of combat training - and he was heading to the battle zone in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.

Within days, he told her that he and others had been ambushed in an area controlled by Russian forces. She pleaded with him to come home.

I said: 'David, please leave that place.' He told me: 'How can I leave? I signed a contract. Give me at least one year.'

Then she received the message she feared.

It was 4 October. David had sent her a voice note saying he was about to go into battle; in case he did not survive, he wanted her to have details of his Russian military ID and contract, which was written in Russian.

He urged her to take the documents to the Russian embassy if anything happened to him.

That was the last time she heard from him.

When she sought help from her son's friend, he told her David was feared dead.

Confused and terrified, she was directed to the recruitment agent, who informed her in broken English that her son was missing and feared dead.

Mrs. Kuloba has since been unable to obtain official confirmation from Russian authorities about David. She has turned to the Kenyan government for help.

Kenya’s foreign minister acknowledged some 200 Kenyans were fighting for Russia and that recruitment networks were under investigation.

The painful story of David Kuloba emphasizes the serious issues surrounding recruitment and the harsh reality some families must confront as they seek to understand their loved ones' fates in a war-torn area.