Kenyan police have arrested a key figure in a network that sent more than 1,000 Kenyans to Russia, where many were forcibly conscripted into the army and sent to Ukraine.

Festus Omwamba, 33, was caught Moyale, a border town with Ethiopia, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said on X late Wednesday.

He is “believed to be a key player in (an) extensive human trafficking syndicate,” it said.

Omwamba founded a recruitment agency, Global Face Human Resources, used to funnel Kenyans to Russia.

More than 1,000 Kenyans have joined the Russian army in recent months, Kenyan MP Kimani Ichung’wah told parliament last week, citing a joint report from the intelligence services and DCI.

Several media outlets, including AFP, have reported on the forced conscription of Kenyans.

Many had no military experience and were promised lucrative civilian jobs in Russia, only to be forced to sign contracts with the army and sent to the frontlines in Ukraine with limited training, where many have died.

AFP recently spoke with four Kenyans — three wounded — who made it home. One thought he was going for a job as a salesman, two thought they would be security guards, and the fourth was a high-level athlete.

All were recruited through Global Face Human Resources and had denounced Omwamba’s role in the deception, along with one of his employees, Edward Gituku, who is currently being prosecuted for human trafficking.

The Russian embassy in Kenya denied the accusations last week, calling them a “dangerous and misleading propaganda campaign”.

AFP