Why Kenyans are risking their lives for jobs abroad

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has laid bare the risks desperate jobless Kenyans take to surmount unemployment.

Following the escalation of the war, at least 20 Kenyans have died with the latest casualties being Joseph Kamau Wanjiru, Eric Mwangi Nyambura, Joel Ngure Karithi and Ronald Kipkurui Kibet. News of their deaths was broken by the Russian government on April 24, 2026.

When the conflict intensified and casualties on the battlefield increased, Moscow was forced to recruit fighters from Africa to sustain the war. Russia engaged in a deceptive recruitment exercise targeting gullible young men from several African countries, including Kenya.

Initially, the thought of Kenyans being among the combatants was inconceivable. But that perception changed completely when reports started emerging of Kenyans dying while on the frontline.

The death of Martin Macharia Mburu on the battlefield was the tip of the iceberg over Kenyans’ presence in Russia as fighters, most of them going there without the knowledge of their close relatives, as it would turn out later.

Macharia’s death was the first statistic reported last December. The 39-year-old left Kenya on October 21, 2025.

Macharia who lived in Ruaka, Kiambu County, was lured to work  as a driver but ended up on the war front in Donetsk-Lyman of Ukraine after being coerced into military service in spite of having no training background.

The father of three had gone abroad, hoping to give his children a better life, only to meet untimely death in an assignment he never signed up for.

Macharia travelled to Russia, believing the godsend opportunity would give his family a better life, only to be pushed into a battlefield he knew nothing about.

According to Grace Gathoni, her husband was promised the opportunity by a recruitment agent after losing his job as a matatu driver.

Upon arriving in Russia via the United Arab Emirates, Macharia and another Kenyan, identified as Peter Kimemia were handed over to another team where they were forced to sign a contract written in a 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,” recounted a heartbroken Gathoni.

Unbeknownst to him, Macharia was lured by fraudulent recruitment networks exploiting the desperation of Kenyans prospecting for job opportunities abroad.

His death sparked widespread concern that more Kenyans were ensnared in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has once again exposed the country’s weak international labour laws being exploited by rogue recruitment agencies that lead potential job seekers into trouble.

Experts are attributing the migrant labour situation to a weak economy unable to support the local labour demand and pressure, forcing thousands of Kenyans to look for opportunities elsewhere regardless of the risks involved.

The government's initial response was denying that any Kenyans were involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a position that soon contradicted the reports of fatalities involving Kenyans as cries of the families back home grew louder. 

“The push and pull factors are the primary drivers of these migrations. The prevailing situation where the economy is ailing, cost of living is high, lengthy process of starting a business and opportunities are scarce, is forcing young men and women to move out of the country,” says Chrispine Kimani, the Lead in Labour Migration at the Center for Domestic Training and Development.

According to Kimani, if the economy is stable, fewer Kenyans would be excited to explore opportunities abroad. “The migration is a means to an end; some of the job seekers are willing to take the risk rather than die while sitting,” he added.

Prof Michael Chege, a research affiliate, Institute of Development Studies at University of Nairobi believes the best way out of the monumental crisis is to have an economic transformative path combining job-creating manufacturing and quality services growth as China did, and as Vietnam and Cambodia are doing right now.

"Instead, we have decided on exporting human capital to labour shortage places, as the Philippines did, sending millions of household workers, nurses, drivers and ICT graduates. The tragedy of youth employment in our country was lying deep in the barrage of the statistics released on Wednesday at the launch of the Economic Survey 2026," notes Prof Chege who once worked as an adviser at the Ministry of Treasury and Planning. 

Most Kenyan youth, he emphasises, are keen on formal jobs and not informal jobs whose returns and security are not guaranteed.

"This is what Kenyan youths have in mind when they demand quality jobs here at home, and the State has failed them by pointing them to the Hustler Fund for the launch of a tea and mandazi kiosk or a dead-end job in the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia or Germany. Some have opted to take the risk of real death ending in Ukraine," says Prof Chege.

By the time the government admitted that Kenyans were involved in the Russia-Ukraine warfare, scores had already lost their lives, others were hospitalized, some were in captivity, and a number were stranded after escaping from the battlefields.

In a damning report tabled in Parliament, National Intelligence Service (NIS) indicated that more than 1,000 Kenyans were recruited or trafficked to fight for Russia  in the Ukraine conflict, where they were promised lofty pay of a monthly pay of Sh350,000, and bonuses amounting Sh1.2 million.

According to the intelligence breakdown, then, some 89 Kenyans were active on the front line, 31 hospitalised, 28 mission in action, 35 based in camps, 30 repatriated, one detained and one completed contract.

Some of the Kenyan recruits have managed to return home, recounting being promised skilled jobs only to end up in the battlefields after signing contracts drafted in Russian.

Kelvin Lemashon Koriko, who landed back home on March 19, 2026 after months of fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war, warned fellow citizens that behind the promise of good money, danger lurks large.

Another Kenyan captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting for the Russian army has narrated his ordeal while cautioning jobless youth to resist the urge to enlist as fighters in the conflict.

In a recent video shared on social media, 41-year-old Joseph Kabugi disclosed that he joined the Russian military  out of desperation following years of struggles without employment.

The computer scientist got the information from a friend and did not think twice about taking up the opportunity, only to regret on landing in Russia, where he was conscripted into the military.

"For me, I was not really prepared because in the real sense, how do you prepare for three weeks to go and fight in a war?" he said.

The man was deployed to Kupiansk, a city in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast, which is located on the Oskil River, some 40 kilometres from the Russian border.

Kabugi recounted the unforgiving cold weather conditions he endured and said, "Don't join the war between Ukraine and Russia. Be safe, stay in your country."

The chilling testimonies capture the desperation of Kenyans who, due to a lack of opportunities locally, look elsewhere abroad, where they end up either in servitude or being exposed to criminality and risky jobs that do not match their skills.

From highly skilled to labour-intensive jobs, Kenyans work in North America, Europe and Middle East where they serve as engineers, medics, IT experts, accountants, tutors, translators, waiters, waitresses, chefs, beauticians, hairdressers, drivers, caregivers and nannies.

Thousands of Kenyans are spread in several countries where they eke out a living and remit back home an estimated Sh650 billion annually. Though the exact number is not known, President William Ruto recently indicated that there are 494,000 young Kenyans working abroad.

“Over 494,000 young people are working in France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and many countries,” Dr Ruto told church leaders at State House.