NAIROBI: More than 1,000 Kenyans have gone to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine, most of them tricked into signing military contracts, according to an intelligence report presented to Kenya’s parliament.
Multiple media investigations, including one published earlier this month by AFP, have exposed how Russia has enticed men from African countries with promises of lucrative jobs, only to force them into fighting on the front line in Ukraine.
A joint investigation by Kenya’s National Intelligence Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigations, presented in parliament on Tuesday, put the number of recruits from the country at “over 1,000” — far higher than the figure of “around 200” given by authorities in December.
“The Kenyans leave the country on tourist visas to join the Russian army through Istanbul, Turkiye, as well as Abu Dhabi, UAE,” Kimani Ichung’wah, parliament majority leader, told lawmakers.
But he said increased border enforcement at Nairobi’s airport meant recruits were also now traveling to other African countries to avoid detection.
Ichung’wah said unlicensed recruitment agencies in Kenya were “colluding with rogue airport staff.”
He said at least 39 Kenyans were currently hospitalized, 28 missing-in-action and 89 on the front line.
Kenya’s Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi is due to visit Moscow next month to discuss the issue, with the government condemning the use of its people “as cannon fodder.”
Uganda and South Africa are among the other African countries that have been targeted for recruitment as Russia faces heavy casualties in Ukraine.
Russia has taken ‘over 1,000’ Kenyans to Ukraine: intelligence report
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Russia has taken ‘over 1,000’ Kenyans to Ukraine: intelligence report
- Russia has enticed men from African countries with promises of lucrative jobs, only to force them into fighting
58 still in hospital following New Year Swiss bar blaze
- Over half of those wounded in the fire in the ski resort of Crans-Montana are in hospital
- 21 injured people were still in Swiss hospitals, including 12 in Lausanne and eight in Zurich
GENEVA: A total of 58 people are still in hospital following the deadly inferno that engulfed a Swiss bar during New Year celebrations, Switzerland’s Keystone-ATS news agency reported Tuesday.
Nearly eight weeks on from the tragedy that killed 41 people and injured 115 others, just over half of those wounded in the fire in the ski resort of Crans-Montana are in hospital.
The National Network for Disaster Medicine told ATS that as of Monday, 21 injured people were still in Swiss hospitals, including 12 in Lausanne and eight in Zurich, two of whom are still in intensive care.
Nine others were in rehabilitation clinics, including eight in Sion, capital of the southwestern Wallis region where Crans-Montana is situated.
A further 28 patients are still receiving treatment abroad: 14 in France, eight in Italy, four in Germany and two in Belgium. Those 28 include 11 Swiss nationals.
Le Constellation, a bar in upscale Crans-Montana, caught fire in the early hours of January 1. Those killed were mostly teenagers; 20 of them were minors.
Prosecutors believe the fire started when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised too close to the ceiling in the bar’s basement level, igniting the sound insulation foam.
While those suffering the lightest injuries were discharged in the days immediately following the blaze, on January 5, a total of 83 people were still in hospital.
The bar’s owners, French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are under criminal investigation, facing charges of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.
Two others are also under criminal investigation: Crans-Montana’s current head of public safety and a former fire safety officer in the town.
Meanwhile former Swiss president Doris Leuthard will head the Beloved Foundation, set up in response to the “outpouring of solidarity” following the tragedy, the Wallis cantonal government said Tuesday.
“The foundation’s primary goal is to provide financial assistance to the bereaved families of the deceased, all those injured, their directly-affected relatives,” plus the firefighters and first responders who dealt with the disaster, it said.
The foundation will also support eventual memorial projects.
Wallis canton has put forward an initial one million Swiss francs ($1.3 million) out of a planned 10 million donation. In total, around 17 million francs have been pledged to the foundation.
