Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has told the Senate that 354 Kenyans remain unaccounted for after travelling to Russia and becoming involved in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, with the government so far repatriating 62 Kenyans.
Mudavadi appeared before a joint Senate committee on Labour and Defence on Thursday, where he gave an update on government efforts to trace and bring home Kenyans who travelled to the conflict zone.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary said the government is engaging both Russian and Ukrainian authorities in efforts to establish the whereabouts of the missing Kenyans and secure their release.
“We are talking to both the Russian and Ukrainian authorities, so that when they exchange prisoners of war, they also release the Kenyans,” Mudavadi told the committee.
He said some of the Kenyans left the country without informing either their families or the government, making efforts to trace them more difficult.
“Some of the people we are dealing with left without even informing their families, let alone the government, but we still have to look for them,” he said.
Mudavadi disclosed that the government has already brought 62 Kenyans back home, adding that efforts are continuing to secure the return of more citizens.
He, however, said the government currently lacks funds specifically allocated for the repatriation exercise.
“As of now, we have no funds to repatriate,” Mudavadi told the senators.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary also explained why the government has been referring to the Kenyans as “missing in action”, rather than declaring them dead.
He said the government does not have sufficient confirmation on the fate of the missing Kenyans and is therefore continuing efforts to establish whether they are alive.
“We are using the words missing in action because we are not sure whether they are dead or not,” he said.
Mudavadi further said the government’s immediate priority is to bring the Kenyans home, despite the circumstances under which they travelled to the conflict zone.
He noted that enlistment in a foreign government’s military is illegal without the consent of the President, but said the government would not focus on that issue while dealing with the current humanitarian situation.
“It’s illegal to enlist in a foreign government with consent of the President, so even as we deal with this, we are not going to look at that aspect. Our mission is to bring those Kenyans back home,” Mudavadi said.
He expressed hope that ongoing diplomatic efforts would result in more Kenyans returning home alive.
“We hope that we will bring more alive than dead,” he said.
The Senate committee is expected to continue scrutinising the circumstances surrounding the recruitment and movement of Kenyans into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as the government’s efforts to trace, assist and repatriate those affected.
