Fredrick Odhiambo Ojiro, head of rapid response for Vocal Africa, a pan-African human rights organization, said Russian church leaders have promoted the prospect of working in Russia among young Kenyans. “They have told the youth the church has now come to provide those opportunities to young men in Russia. They are also using women to speak closely to the individuals, since they are calm and can be trusted more,” said Odhiambo in an interview.
The exact number of Kenyans who have traveled to Russia is not known, but Odhiambo estimated that more than 500 individuals have been there in the past two years, most traveling on temporary tourist visas. Some 200 families have reached out to Vocal Africa about their children’s situation.
Before traveling to Russia, the migrants were promised salaries of 350,000 to 400,000 Kenyan shillings (about $3,000), according to Odhiambo, but many never received the money after their legal documents were confiscated. “They lie to you to use the commander’s details to open a bank account. When the money is deposited, they never give it to you. In fact, when money is put in the account, you shall have been taken to the front line,” said Odhiambo.
A Russian Orthodox priest in Nairobi, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak for the church, told Religion News Service that the church sends seminary students to Ukraine to study, not to fight, but said students are often warned that military recruitment can happen.
The priest said the church monitors the students’ status closely. “We can account for all the students that we have sent to study and those we have sent to the seminaries. I don’t think there is something malicious about this,” he said, adding, “None of them joined the military, not even a single one.”