By HAN News Desk
NAIROBI — Kenyan intelligence agencies say more than 1,000 Kenyan citizens have been recruited to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine, with many allegedly misled into signing military contracts after traveling abroad on tourist visas.
An intelligence report presented to parliament by the National Intelligence Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations states that a number of recruits believed they were being offered jobs or security-related work overseas, only to find themselves enlisted in the conflict after arriving in foreign transit hubs.
According to the report, most of the Kenyans traveled out of the country using tourist visas and commonly passed through Istanbul in Turkey and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates before being transferred to Russia or areas linked to the war effort. Investigators say the travel routes were designed to avoid suspicion and mask the true purpose of the journey.
Officials told lawmakers that enhanced screening and tighter security checks at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
