The Daily Nation has published an alarming exposé on a covert network luring Kenyan job seekers into Russia’s war effort through disguised recruitment schemes.
According to the report, a police operation on September 24 led to the arrest of 13 Kenyan nationals and their foreign host at an apartment in Nairobi.
The raid followed a tip-off that revealed a wider pipeline targeting unemployed youths with promises of lucrative overseas jobs.
The investigation shows that many applicants were told they would be hired as drivers, security guards, or other casual workers.
Instead, once they arrived in Russia, they were allegedly drafted into the military and deployed to active conflict zones.
The publication notes that the recruits were enticed with offers of salaries reportedly reaching up to KSh300,000 per month—an amount designed to appeal to desperate job seekers facing limited opportunities at home.
The Daily Nation frames the scheme as part of a growing trend of exploitation where criminal networks prey on Kenya’s high unemployment rates, putting citizens at extreme personal risk under the guise of foreign employment.