Kenya asks to recognize its citizens captured in Ukraine as victims of human trafficking
354 Kenyan citizens are known to be involved in the war in Ukraine. At least 84 of them have died or gone missing.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called for citizens of the country captured in Ukraine to be recognized as victims of human trafficking, not prisoners of war, because they were "recruited under false pretenses of employment," BBC writes.
In total, the Kenyan government knows of 354 citizens of the country who were involved in the war in Ukraine, Mudavadi told parliament on Thursday. At least 84 of them have died or gone missing. Five people are considered prisoners of war. The youngest Kenyan POW is 23 years old.
Kenya's Honorary Consul in Ukraine visited the camp where these people are held and reported on humane conditions of detention.
"The circumstances of their recruitment and signing of contracts meet the definition of human trafficking," Bloomberg quotes Mudavadi.
In February, following the publication of a Kenyan intelligence report about a thousand Kenyan citizens recruited by Moscow to participate in the war, the Russian embassy in Nairobi rejected accusations of involvement in the illegal recruitment of Kenyans for military service.
According to Kyiv's estimates, more than 28,000 foreigners from 135 countries are fighting on Russia's side, and more than 5,000 of them have died. Citizens of 51 countries have been captured by Ukraine.
Currently, at least 213 foreigners are in captivity, not counting citizens of North Korea and Russia. 37 of them are citizens of African countries.
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