Kenyan man accused of tricking and trafficking hundreds of Kenyans to fight for Russia in Ukraine
CBSN
Nairobi — A key figure in a network that sent more than 1,000 Kenyans to fight for the Russian army was charged on Thursday with human trafficking, the state prosecutor said. In:
Nairobi — A key figure in a network that sent more than 1,000 Kenyans to fight for the Russian army was charged on Thursday with human trafficking, the state prosecutor said.
Festus Omwamba, 33, the founder of recruitment agency Global Face Human Resources, allegedly used to funnel Kenyans to Russia, was presented in court following his arrest in Moyale, a border town with Ethiopia.
In a social media post, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said Omwamba was accused of having "recruited twenty-two Kenyan youths to Russia for exploitation by means of deception."
According to the state prosecutor, 22 "victims of human trafficking were rescued" in a police operation last September, while three others who found themselves on the front line of the Russia-Ukraine war returned home with injuries.
More than 1,000 Kenyans have joined the Russian army in recent months, Kenyan MP Kimani Ichung'wah told parliament last week, citing a joint report from the country's intelligence services and Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
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