Kisii family seeks answers after kin killed in Ukraine war

According to family members, Bagaka was among Kenyans who left the country under the promise of legitimate employment in Qatar, only for his journey to take a deadly turn that ended on the battlefields of Ukraine after he was allegedly lured into joining the Russian army.

Dennis Bagaka Ombwori was from Emanyi village, Kisii County.

Here, a cloud of grief hangs heavy over his homestead as friends, relatives and villagers stream in, having received news of the former Kenya Defence Forces officer’s death on Friday.

At home, tears flow freely, both the young and the old wrestling with a painful question, how did a man who left home in search of a better life die in a foreign war?

"Kijana alienda Qatar kama mfanyikazi wa security guard," said John Ombwori – Bagaka’s father.

This modest house is all Bagaka left behind, a quiet symbol of promises unfulfilled and dreams cut short after he assured his family that his journey abroad would lift them out of hardship.

His mother, Esther Ombwori, breaks down. She is mourning a son who died far from home, in a war he never told them he was going to fight.

The family is questioning how Kenyans are recruited for overseas jobs, and whether the state did enough to protect its citizens.

"Huyu kijana alienda kupitia kazi ya serikali, kufika Russia they were told there were better jobs, no one said they were going to war," said Alfred Morara, Bagaka’s brother.

"Mtoto wetu alitoka akiwa mzima, hatujui, rais wetu jameni mtusaidie, hakuna hata kitu nyumbani," said Alice Siro, Neighbour.

As the Russia–Kenya recruitment saga continues to unfold, Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs as well as Prime Cabinet Secretary, has cautioned youth against falling victim to overseas job scams.

Civil society groups are now demanding answers, saying the scale of the recruitment could not have gone unnoticed.

"How possible that over 500 Kenyans are being recruited without the knowledge of Kenyan intelligence?" said a Vocal Africa representative.

However, Association of Skilled and Migrant Agencies of Kenya chairman Francis Wahome says Kenyans travel to Russia willingly.

Bagaka’s was one of two bodies identified by Ukrainian defence intelligence on Thursday, in the Donetsk region, the latest confirmation of the human cost of the shadowy recruitment network.

Many more Kenyan families remain unaware of the fate of their kin in Russia.

The pain in this family is unbearable. They have been left with more questions than answers, and they are now calling upon the government to help them locate and repatriate the body of Dennis so that they can accord him a befitting send off.