Overview
- Kenyan prosecutors charged Festus Arasa Omwamba with trafficking 25 people to Russia under false pretenses, with a court ordering him held pending a bail hearing.
- Court filings say 22 recruits were intercepted near Nairobi before departure and three who reached Russia were sent to the front in Ukraine and returned injured.
- Kenya’s intelligence service reports more than 1,000 citizens were drawn into fighting for Russia, as authorities shuttered over 600 suspect agencies and repatriated 27 nationals.
- South Africa says at least two citizens were killed, 11 have returned home, and two remain in Russia with severe injuries after being funneled to combat zones.
- Ukraine reports identifying more than 1,780 Africans from 36 countries in opposing ranks, while investigative outlet iStories says Russia issued a blacklist barring recruitment from about 43 nations.