Kenyan Minister Accused of Civilian Recruitment to Russian Army

Erastus Mundia left Kenya in June 2025 under a government-backed overseas work programme that promised civilian employment in Russia. Instead, he later died on the battlefield in Ukraine, with his family now blaming Labour Minister Alfred Mutua for his fate.

Mundia, a 38-year-old father of three, was among hundreds of Kenyans recruited under assurances of well-paid jobs abroad. However, reports indicate that many of those who travelled were allegedly forced to sign contracts with the Russian military, in some cases under coercion, and were deployed to active combat zones with minimal training.

“Since I got the news, I hardly eat. I find myself in a different world,” his mother, Josephine Ngoya, told AFP while holding a photograph of her son taken at his university graduation. She added, “I feel like the Kenyan government and Alfred Mutua have betrayed us,” speaking from her home in western Kenya’s Kakamega region.

Kenya’s official figures estimate that 291 citizens have been affected by what authorities describe as Russia’s “irregular military recruitment,” including 19 confirmed dead and 32 missing. However, a Kenyan intelligence report seen by AFP suggests the number could exceed 1,000, with allegations that officials were involved in facilitating the scheme.

Three senior Kenyan sources familiar with the matter, including a civil servant, a security official and a lawyer, told AFP that Labour Minister Alfred Mutua played a direct role in the recruitment arrangements. These claims have not been independently verified. Mutua initially agreed to an interview but later declined to comment.

On June 26, 2025, Mutua shared images of himself with Mundia and other Kenyans departing for Russia, describing it as a “life-changing opportunity” in which participants would earn 115,000 shillings ($900) monthly working in a food-packing factory. However, rights organisation VOCAL Africa claims many of those individuals are now dead.

According to Mundia’s family, he died in January, although AFP has not independently confirmed this. VOCAL Africa estimates it has handled more than 500 cases linked to forced recruitment into the Russian military, with about 350 families believing their relatives have died.

Mutua previously served as Kenya’s foreign minister before being reassigned to the labour ministry, where he oversaw labour migration programmes sending Kenyans abroad for work. Kenya relies heavily on remittances, which reportedly exceeded one trillion shillings ($7.7 billion) last year.

The scandal has triggered political and public criticism. VOCAL Africa has described Mutua as “the main culprit,” accusing him of signing agreements that exposed vulnerable citizens to danger.

“He signed all these agreements,” VOCAL Africa’s Odhiambo Ojiro told AFP, adding that many victims “died a painful death because Alfred Mutua and his accomplices are interested in making the money at the expense of lives of poor ordinary citizens.”

Mutua was previously questioned by parliament over recruitment fraud linked to Gulf jobs, alongside a recruitment agency head who has since been arrested and charged with human trafficking in connection with the Russia scheme.

Despite growing pressure, Mutua has not faced formal disciplinary or criminal action. Critics, including some government and security sources, argue that he should be removed from office and investigated.

The controversy has also taken on political dimensions ahead of Kenya’s 2027 elections, with officials noting the sensitivity of regional alliances. Meanwhile, Mutua was excluded from a recent government delegation to Russia, with officials describing his absence as necessary to avoid “an insult to the victims.”

Source: africanews.com