High youth unemployment exposes young Kenyans, like thousands across Africa, to exploitation and false promises of lucrative jobs abroad.

Kenya has announced an amnesty for its citizens recruited to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine. This follows Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi’s visit to Moscow on 16 March. Kenyan law prohibits nationals from joining any foreign country’s armed forces without the president’s written permission.

Kenya joins a growing list of African countries – from South Africa to Egypt – whose citizens have been lured by promises of well-paid civilian jobs. A new report by The Africa Center for Strategic Studies says thousands of Africans from 45 countries have been trafficked to fight for Russia on the frontlines. The report outlines an ‘expansive and systematic’ recruitment process built on deception and aimed at ‘African job seekers and students.’ 

The syndicate behind Kenyans’ recruitment into Russia’s army is said to have begun its activities in December 2024. It was allegedly aided by officials from Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations, immigration department and labour ministry.

Unlike in Cameroon, where active soldiers have deserted to fight in Ukraine, targets in Kenya are mainly former soldiers or police, or those with paramilitary training, such as the National Youth Service. So far, most recruits have been unemployed youth, reflecting citizens’ desperation to escape economic hardship.

Recruits were offered a monthly salary of roughly US$2 400 and a one-time bonus of US$6 200 to US$8 300. By comparison, Kenya’s average monthly salary is US$159. In a country where youth unemployment stands at 67%, the deal appears to offer young people a promising opportunity.

According to a National Intelligence Service report presented in the National Assembly on 12 February by Kimani Ichung’wah, leader of the majority party, more than 1 000 Kenyans had been recruited. About 89 were still in active combat, 39 were hospitalised, and 28 were missing in action.

Ichung’wah accused Russian Embassy officials and Kenyan Embassy staff in Russia of working with recruitment agencies and trafficking syndicates. The Russian Embassy in Kenya denies this, terming it ‘dangerous’ and ‘misleading’. The recruitment web has since been exposed as an intricate syndicate involving Russian government agents, rogue elements within Kenya’s security and immigration agencies and some employment agencies.

Emmanuel Wa-Kyendo of the Institute of Economic Affairs Kenya told ISS Today that decades of poor planning and the mismatch between human capital and the labour market forced Kenyans to seek employment elsewhere. He said the problem stemmed from structural failures and poor implementation of economic policies.

According to the Federation of Kenya Employers, about a million young Kenyans enter the job market each year. However, only a fraction secure formal employment, with many lacking the necessary skills or opportunities required to match available jobs.

President William Ruto highlighted this problem during the 1 May Labour Day celebrations, saying Kenya could absorb only 100 000 of the qualified workers who entered the job market annually.

Ruto has previously noted that labour migration is a critical component of the country’s socioeconomic development, ‘[benefitting] both Kenya and countries that welcome our workers. This is the reason … we continue to negotiate bilateral [labour] agreements to facilitate safe and orderly [labour] migration, protecting Kenyan workers’ rights and facilitating their access to international job markets.

But as the government increasingly prioritises remittances to build the local economy, unemployment and poor working conditions are sending critical workers abroad. About 4 000 doctors and nurses leave the country each year, leaving state hospitals short-staffed.

Many young Kenyans are also moving in large numbers to the Middle East. Government estimates from March 2026 are that more than 500 000 Kenyans are working in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, mainly in low- and semi-skilled blue-collar roles in domestic, security, construction and hospitality work.

According to Amnesty International, some of those recruited to work in the Middle East are subjected to human trafficking, racism and forced labour, and live in inhumane conditions. Kenyan migrant workers who have returned home from the Gulf countries have complained of unpaid wages, starvation and in some cases, sexual abuse. Many others have died abroad.

But many Kenyans still choose to leave, especially to the Middle East, to seek economic relief and improve the living standards of their families back home through remittances, which crossed the US$5-billion mark in 2025, up from US$4.95-billion in 2024.

Government attempts to ease unemployment through labour migration will continue to accelerate the outflow of workers, both skilled and unskilled. In the process, the country risks losing its much-needed human capital at home, exposing the economy’s key sectors, such as health and manufacturing, to labour shortages.

To address this problem, Mudavadi has proposed a formal bilateral labour migration agreement with Russia and promised government action against those involved in the trafficking of Kenyans to Russia’s battlefronts.

Beyond these measures, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs should facilitate the safe return of Kenyans trapped on the frontlines and those held as prisoners of war by Ukraine. The security agencies should investigate and bring to book the people behind the recruitment of Kenyans to join Russia’s army.

And most importantly, Kenya’s government needs to equip young people with the right skills for job placements in the country, expand the economy to create enough opportunities, and promote policies that caution Kenyans against deception and fake promises of economic opportunities abroad.

Written by Guyo Chepe Turi, Research Officer, East Africa Peace and Security Governance, ISS Nairobi