Kenyan families are urgently appealing to the State for assistance after their relatives, who sought work in Russia, were reportedly recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, with some confirmed dead or injured. Many were allegedly promised driving jobs but found themselves in military uniforms.

• Martin Macharia, from Ruaka, Kiambu County, is the first officially confirmed Kenyan fatality, killed on the Donetsk-Lyman frontline.
• Families, including Ms Grace Gathoni (Macharia’s widow) and Pauline Dume (wife of Errustus Kitti Nyale), claim they face difficulties repatriating bodies or securing the return of those still alive.
• The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has reportedly asked for between Sh600,000 to Sh1.5 million for body repatriation, a sum families cannot afford.
• Khalid Hussein, Executive Director of Vocal Africa (a human rights lobby group), describes the situation as a national crisis and demands action against rogue recruitment agents.