A Kenyan family is seeking answers and support to repatriate the body of their 29-year-old relative, who was killed in Ukraine while fighting for Russia.
Clinton Nyapara Mogesa, 29, initially left Kenya for a job in Qatar in 2024, and his family later learned that he had then travelled to Russia.
On Saturday, Ukrainian authorities reported that he had died in a so-called “meat assault” – one involving high casualty numbers – in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, after being recruited in Qatar. They said the Russians did not evacuate his body, and he was carrying the passports of two other Kenyans.
His death comes amid growing concerns about Kenyans being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Mogesa’s family told local Citizen TV that they had sold land to raise money for him to travel to Qatar in search of employment.
“His death has shocked us,” his brother Joel Mogere told the station. He said Mogesa was the last-born and “the breadwinner and the hope of this family”.
His mother, Mellen Moraa, said she was diabetic and that her son used to pay for her medication and take care of her, and said she did not know what to do.
“I plead with the government for help,” she added.
The government last month said that 18 Kenyans who had been fighting in Russia had been rescued and repatriated.
Last November, Kenya’s foreign minister said about 200 Kenyans were known to be fighting for Russia and that recruitment networks were still active.
Other African countries have reported cases of young people being approached with offers of lucrative jobs in Russia that later led to military recruitment.
Ukraine’s intelligence assessment estimates that more than 1,400 people from 36 countries in Africa have been recruited to fight for Russia.
Ukraine has in the past repeatedly warned that anyone fighting for Russia would be treated as an enemy combatant, with the safe route out being to surrender.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency on Saturday cautioned foreign nationals against travelling to Russia or accepting employment there, particularly informal or illegal work.
It said travelling there “carries a real risk of being forcibly deployed to assault units without adequate training and with little to no chance of survival”.
