00:00A group of South African men who were lured into fighting for Russia arrived home this week
00:05amid growing signs Moscow is recruiting African citizens in its war on Ukraine.
00:10South Africa's government said that two of its citizens had died on the front lines of the
00:14conflict. Reports of African men being lured into Russia with promises of jobs and ending up on
00:19Ukraine's front line have become more frequent in recent months. Russian authorities have denied
00:24illegally recruiting Africans to fight in Ukraine, but said foreign citizens could voluntarily join
00:29its armed forces. On Thursday, a Nairobi court charged a man with trying to hire and traffic 25
00:35people to fight for Russia. Festus Arasa Omwamba pleaded not guilty to the charges.
00:41Kenyan prosecutors said that 22 out of the 25 people were rescued from an apartment
00:45complex near the capital last September before they traveled to Russia. The prosecutor's office
00:50said three others who had already gone to Russia allegedly found themselves at the front line of
00:54the Russia-Ukraine war, and they later came back with injuries. So far, over 1,000 Kenyans have been
01:02recruited and departed to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. The majority leader of Kenya's parliament this
01:07month read aloud from an intelligence report that alleged a network of rogue state officials had
01:12colluded with human trafficking syndicates to recruit Kenyans to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
01:17The rogue agencies are targeting ex-military, ex-police officers, as well as civilians aged between the
01:24mid-20s to 50 years who are desperate for job opportunities abroad.
01:30Kenya's foreign ministry has said 27 Kenyans have been rescued after being stranded in Russia.
01:35Kenya's foreign minister said he plans to visit Russia in March for talks on the issue.
01:39On Thursday, Ghana's foreign minister, following a visit to Ukraine, said 272 Ghanaians had been
01:45lured into battle in the Ukraine war since 2022. 55 had been killed, he wrote on social media,
01:52and two captured as prisoners of war.
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