David Kuloba's mother warned him about going to Russia after he accepted a job as a security guard advertised by a recruitment agency in Kenya. At first the family, who live in the Kenyan capital's crowded informal settlement of Kibera had been excited when he said he had found work abroad - it sounded like a rare break. The 22-year-old had been doing casual labour in Nairobi - from selling groundnuts to construction jobs - and had long hoped to secure work in the Gulf.
But when his mother asked which country he was heading to, his reply shocked her. He showed me his phone and said: 'Look, it's Russia,' Susan Kuloba told the BBC's Newsday programme. I told him: 'Don't you see what they show on TV about Russia? It's never good, she recalled.
Despite her protests, he travelled to Russia in August without telling her the exact date of his departure. She was shocked when he contacted her later, saying he had arrived and sending a photograph of himself in full combat uniform. He told me: 'Mum, the job we were told we came to do has been changed, but even this one is not bad,' she said.
Her son explained that he and some other Kenyan men had been given two weeks of combat training - and he was heading to the battle zone in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022. Within days, he told her that he and others had been ambushed in an area controlled by Russian forces. She pleaded with him to come home. I said: 'David, please leave that place.' He told me: 'How can I leave? I signed a contract. Give me at least one year.'
On 4 October, David sent her a voice note saying he was about to go into battle. It was the last time she heard from him. Confused and terrified, she sought help from her son's friend, who told her David was feared dead.
I asked his friend: 'How do you know?' He said: 'Let me give you the number of the agent who recruited us in Russia.' Mrs. Kuloba messaged the number but received replies in Russian. Eventually, one agent confirmed in English that David was missing.
The tragedy extends beyond David, as other families recount similar harrowing experiences. Aggregate reports suggest that up to 200 Kenyans are known to be involved in combat for Russian forces, after being recruited with promises of lucrative pay. The Kenyan government has pledged to investigate these recruitment agencies and the contracts that seemingly misled young men desperate for better opportunities.
Mrs. Kuloba still has no official confirmation of her son's fate and is heartbroken: He wanted to help us. He thought he was going for a better job. The escalating crisis draws attention not only to the risks of exploitation in foreign job markets but also the broader implications of warfare encroaching onto the lives of innocent families.
But when his mother asked which country he was heading to, his reply shocked her. He showed me his phone and said: 'Look, it's Russia,' Susan Kuloba told the BBC's Newsday programme. I told him: 'Don't you see what they show on TV about Russia? It's never good, she recalled.
Despite her protests, he travelled to Russia in August without telling her the exact date of his departure. She was shocked when he contacted her later, saying he had arrived and sending a photograph of himself in full combat uniform. He told me: 'Mum, the job we were told we came to do has been changed, but even this one is not bad,' she said.
Her son explained that he and some other Kenyan men had been given two weeks of combat training - and he was heading to the battle zone in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022. Within days, he told her that he and others had been ambushed in an area controlled by Russian forces. She pleaded with him to come home. I said: 'David, please leave that place.' He told me: 'How can I leave? I signed a contract. Give me at least one year.'
On 4 October, David sent her a voice note saying he was about to go into battle. It was the last time she heard from him. Confused and terrified, she sought help from her son's friend, who told her David was feared dead.
I asked his friend: 'How do you know?' He said: 'Let me give you the number of the agent who recruited us in Russia.' Mrs. Kuloba messaged the number but received replies in Russian. Eventually, one agent confirmed in English that David was missing.
The tragedy extends beyond David, as other families recount similar harrowing experiences. Aggregate reports suggest that up to 200 Kenyans are known to be involved in combat for Russian forces, after being recruited with promises of lucrative pay. The Kenyan government has pledged to investigate these recruitment agencies and the contracts that seemingly misled young men desperate for better opportunities.
Mrs. Kuloba still has no official confirmation of her son's fate and is heartbroken: He wanted to help us. He thought he was going for a better job. The escalating crisis draws attention not only to the risks of exploitation in foreign job markets but also the broader implications of warfare encroaching onto the lives of innocent families.
