'Don't join the war', Kenyan taken prisoner by Ukrainian soldiers narrates experience

In an undated video recording that has since gone viral, Kabugi revealed that an agency promised free recruitment into the army, albeit to work in your area of expertise. Kabugi, who is now a prisoner of war in Kyiv, pointed out that he never planned to join the war. 

“I have not been in the army. I have really had a difficult time. I was struggling back at home. And so the job opportunity came. The message went through like news. So it is a friend, tell a friend. And so that’s the way the information got to me," he noted. 

"(It said) we can join the Russian army, we don’t need to pay anything, they will cater for everything, even the air ticket and everything. Promised that we won’t go to anything about war, we will do something related to our profession.”

The recruit noted that the majority of the foreign soldiers who arrived in Russia did not know about the real mission, as little information was provided. 

After signing contracts in Russia, they received three weeks of weapons training and later sent to the frontline to join the war against Ukraine. 

“For me, I was not really prepared. Because in the real sense, how do you prepare in three weeks to go and fight? I was afraid.”

Detailing his experience, Kabugi stated that he was sent across a river by boat with one other fighter. 

“Along the way, I saw our dead soldiers. I knew I was going all the way back. But it didn’t happen. I didn’t know, but I was kept somewhere.”

“You’re not talking to the commander at all,” he said, noting how food and water were scarce at the time. 

“Mostly we didn’t shoot, we didn’t do anything. We just had to look for something to eat because it was time for us, it was time for me to go back.”

On February 14th, a second drone attack hit their position, prompting them to flee to another shelter. He revealed that a Russian soldier who left to fetch supplies was captured and redirected the Ukrainian soldiers to their camp, where they were taken as prisoners. 

Fearing the worst, Kabugi said Ukrainian troops showed unexpected mercy towards them. 

“They were very kind, because they had an option, either to shoot us or to let us live. Another thing, they had an option of not giving us food, but they did. I was cold, because you know Africa is nothing about winter. I was given jackets and everything. In fact, I think there were more. I got to meet kind people.”

In his message, he appealed to Kenyans and other foreigners to refrain from joining the war. 

 “My advice, don’t join the war. Don’t join the war between Ukraine and Russia. Be safe. Stay in your country.”

Recently, Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi revealed that 252 Kenyans were on the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine war, with 47 already repatriated and two currently held as prisoners of war in Kyiv.

The CS pointed out that the government has engaged the Ukrainian government to secure the safety and repatriation of any Kenyan captured in the conflict.

“I engaged and agreed with the Russian Minister to explore arrangements for Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine to be transferred to the Russian Federation to facilitate their subsequent repatriation to Kenya,” Mudavadi told MPs on April 1, 2026.