Kenya: Trafficking ring sends citizens to fight in Ukraine war

According to the North Africa Post, a Moroccan government-friendly news outlet, Kenyan citizens are some of the latest victims of international human trafficking.

Kenyan authorities have reportedly uncovered a trafficking ring linked to Russia that deceived the country’s nationals to trap them and make them fight in the Ukraine war.

An intelligence-led operation raided the Great Walls Apartments on the outskirts of Nairobi. Kenyan police agents rescued 22 nationals from the trafficking scheme, who were being “processed” for travel to Russia. The Russian Federation has previously been under scrutiny for using North Korean troops in exchange for nuclear technology.

This trafficking operation was reportedly luring Kenyans with fake employment contracts, promising employment opportunities in Moscow, Russia. The victims have signed contracts with an undisclosed agency paying $1,500 upfront, with promised job placements increasing the total sum of fraud money to $18,000.

A Kenyan national, Edward Kamau Gituku, has been arrested and detained, as the authorities believe he’s an important actor in a transnational trafficking network. A Russian businessman, Mikhail Lyapin, was also questioned before he fled the East-African country, and the Russian Embassy in Nairobi maintains that there are no connections between Lyapin and this gang ring.

This human trafficking scheme highlights a concerning threat to African countries’ nationals, as they are at risk of falling for several scams that exploit their hopes of migrating to countries with better opportunities.

One of the victims of this Russian trafficking scam is Evans Kibet, a Kenyan athlete. He recently went viral after he filmed a video in Ukraine, claiming he was deceived into fighting with the Russian army and is now a prisoner of war.

US and UK courts have recently cracked down on African nationals who abused their asylum seeker programs after they arrived in the Western countries. While some African nationals are able to immigrate to more developed countries using legal pathways, with several of these Africans exploiting the generosity of their host countries’ legal system, not all Africans are as lucky.

Illegal immigration has been on the rise within Africa, as citizens of Sub-Saharan nations are transitioning in North African countries before they hope to reach Europe’s coastlines. A diaspora commission of Nigerians has warned their people against migrating to Libya, describing it as a “voluntary suicide” since they will likely be sold as slaves.

Similar horrible conditions have been observed in other North African countries, as Tunisian authorities are reportedly selling undocumented migrants to Libyan gangs or abandoning them in the Sahara desert. NGOs and rights groups have been sounding the alarm, and even condemned European countries migration deals with North African nations. Libya launched a crackdown on international NGOs aiding migrants, providing proof for the recent concerns over migrants’ conditions in transit countries.

After more than three years and a half since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, this situation marks another development in the belligerents’ attempts to increase their military capabilities. More countries have also been involved in the Russia-Ukraine war as it was uncovered that Israel supplied Ukraine with air defence, and Iran might be joining the effort soon as Russia has decided to further support the Islamic Republic after this announcement was made.

The North Africa Post, Maghrebi.org