Family mourns father lured into war that became death sentence

At just 17, James Mutonga is transitioning to adulthood with pain and heartbreak no child should carry.

He never imagined his father would leave home and return only as a memory. His father is gone, taken by war thousands of miles away from home.

Yet, that is the heartbreaking reality he has to bear.

A teenager who once relied on his father for guidance, providence and protection will now have to learn to stand alone in a world that suddenly feels colder and unfamiliar.

The unfolding war in Russia and Ukraine felt distant, a conflict seen on television and heard in passing conversations. But for one family in a village in Ruaka, Kiambu County, the war hit home like a thunderbolt.

It took away Martin Macharia Mburu, a 39-year-old man who had gone abroad hoping to give his children a better life, only to meet untimely death on the frontline he never signed up for.

Macharia had travelled to Russia after being promised a decent job as a driver and cleaner, an opportunity he believed would give his family a better life, only to be pushed into a battlefield he knew nothing about.

And now in their quiet home in Ruaka, the emptiness and loss left behind is unmistakable. A voice is missing and the heart of Mutonga’s family is gone forever.

In that silence, Mutonga, his mother and his three younger siblings aged 15, seven and four years struggle to make of how a conflict so far away could change their life so suddenly and completely.

“I am so heartbroken. I feel so sad. I loved my dad so much and I can’t believe I will never see him again,” Mutonga said battling tears in his eyes.

Before his departure, Macharia had had a gentled father-to-son moment with Mutonga, his eldest son, almost as though he sensed the weight of the journey ahead.

It was a moment but neither the father nor son imagined would be the final time together.

“Always make peace among you and never create enemies. Do not bother your mum. Take care of her and be a good big brother to your younger siblings. You are the one I’m leaving here as I go,” Mutonga recalled his father’s last words before leaving home for Russia.

“He told us he had found a job abroad and that he would go there to make money for our school fees and come back home after six months,” Mutonga told The Standard during an interview at their home.

Greener pastures

Now, standing in the place his father once stood, the Form Three student at Ihwagi Secondary School in Nyeri tries to be strong, but the pain is sharp and unforgiving.

According to the wife Grace Gathoni, Macharia was promised a job as a driver in Russia by a recruitment agent after losing his job as a matatu driver.

Upon arriving in Russia via United Arabs Emirates, Macharia and another Kenyan identified as Peter Kimemia were handed over to another team where they were forced to a sign a contract written in language they could not read or understand.

“He has been a matatu driver for so many years but he lost his job when a matatu he was driving was sold. He stayed home for some time without a job and that is when he thought of looking for greener pastures abroad,” Gathoni narrated.

According to Gathoni, her husband did not disclose his plans at first. She got to know about it five days to his departure.

“He underwent the recruitment process silently. After few days, he told me he had found a driver’s job in Russia. At first I was happy for him because I knew he was going to make money to make life better for our family,’ Gathoni said.

Macharia left Kenya to Russia on October 21, 2025.

“He was so happy about it. He wanted to make money to build rental houses and put up a business for me,” she added.

After three days in Russia, Macharia called his wife to alert her that they had been duped and that they were signing up a different contract for a military job.

“I asked why he agreed to sign if he didn’t understand and he said they were forced to sign in a hurry and forced to open bank accounts by Russians. They did not know the details of the contract that bound them to do any work assigned to them,” Gathoni narrated.

Few days later, Macharia, Kimemia and a Nigerian national who was lured into the same trap were taken for a three-days training and were barred from contacting anyone. He later went for two weeks without communication.

“They were given back their phones after the training, and he kept urging me to do whatever I could to help him come home. He regretted going there,” she said.

“He would send us photos of the caves and the bush where they were training. I was shocked to see my husband in full military uniform carrying a gun. He knew nothing about military,” Gathoni said.

Military camp

Macharia ended up in a military camp and was later sent to the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine war, despite having no military background or understanding of the conflct.

His wife last spoke with him on November 18, 2025. She only learned of his death through news reports, marking the first public case of a Kenyan killed in the war.

“I don’t know where to start. He has left me with four children. I don’t know how I will take care of them in his absence,” she said.

Calls to the recruiting agent to help Macharia return proved futile. “The agent said he had contacted the Embassy and was waiting for a response,” Gathoni added.

The family’s loss is palpable. For the younger children, seven-year-old Moses Mburu and four-year-old Favour Nyambura, the promise of a bike from their father may never be fulfilled. Now, the children are learning to grieve, Gathoni is managing without her partner, and the family is struggling to rebuild after a tragedy brought by a war they never chose.

Gathoni described her late husband as a loving, hardworking and unifying figure in their family.

“All I ask from the government is to help me recover his body so we can hold a proper funeral and find closure,” she appealed.

Their uncle, Geoffrey Gichuhi, also urged the government to trace Macharia’s body and facilitate its repatriation.
“We did not know he was travelling; otherwise, we would have stopped him. We only learned of his plight when he was in trouble,” said his aunt, Loise Waithira.

The family has called on elected leaders to act.