The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has apprehended the main suspect behind a string of human trafficking allegations, including recruiting Kenyans into Russia’s military.
In a statement on Wednesday, February 25, DCI said 33-year-old Festus Arasa Omwamba who has been on the radar of police and intelligence agencies, was arrested in Moyale.
The suspect is accused of running an unlicensed recruitment agency that is luring vulnerable and unsuspecting job seekers with fake job opportunities in European Countries before finding themselves trapped in illegal and life-threatening jobs.
“Festus is believed to be a key player in a more extensive human trafficking syndicate that exploits vulnerable individuals by promising them legitimate employment opportunities in European countries. However, upon arrival, these unsuspecting victims find themselves trapped in illegal and perilous jobs, stripping them of their dignity and safety,” DCI stated.
The suspect is currently in police custody, undergoing processing in preparation for his impending arraignment.
The arrest comes amid heightened concern over the growing number of Kenyans travelling to Russia to join the Russian army. Some of the victims claim they were promised lucrative civilian opportunities, including driving and security jobs, but found themselves in the Russian army.
A National Intelligence Service (NIS) dossier tabled before MPs on February 18 linked Omwamba to the illegal recruitment through his company, Global Face Human Resources Ltd, which has allegedly recruited at least 1,000 Kenyans to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, with 89 currently on the front line, 39 hospitalised and 28 missing in action.
According to a report on the Daily Nation, the recruits were allegedly promised signing bonuses ranging between Sh910,000 and Sh1.2 million, sums that reportedly attracted even former police and military officers.
The report further alleged that Omwamba facilitated accommodation, bank account openings and travel logistics, often routing recruits through Turkey or the UAE before entry into Russia. He, however, denied the allegations, insisting those who enlisted did so willingly.
Dancan Chege from Kimende in Kiambu County is one of the victims who found himself on the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Chege who managed to return home safely, revealed he left Kenya last year after being promised a job as a truck driver in Moscow through a local recruitment agent.
Things, however, changed unexpectedly when they arrived in Moscow in November 2025. Chege claimed that instead of being placed in a driving job, he, alongside other Kenyans were taken to a military camp and pressured to sign contracts to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
“I knew I was going to be a driver, but when we reached Moscow, things changed. We were taken into the camp and made to sign contracts to fight for Russia,” he claimed.
The group, which consisted of 11 Kenyans were subjected into a one-month intense military training before being released to the battlefield. The day and night training covered the use of military equipment, including weapons, tanks, drones, and other equipment.
“The training itself was torture. It was like they wanted to kill us,” he alleged.
In December 2025, just one month after leaving Kenya, Chege claimed he was deployed to the frontlines. He was promised to be paid Sh3 million for the work but he claimed he never received anything.
Within a week of entering Ukrainian territory, he claimed that all 10 of his fellow Kenyans were killed in action.
After witnessing what had happened, Chege began planning his escape by pretending to be mentally challenged. He claimed that he deliberately opened fire aimlessly while screaming until his commanding officer sent him to a military hospital for evaluation.
Through help from a Russian soldier who was a patient at the facility, Chege got access to a phone to contact his family. He asked them to send fake car accident photos from his mother’s phone, explaining that his wife and three children had been killed and he was needed back in Kenya.
“That made the doctor give me permission to go to the commander,” he said, “and that is how I went to the Kenyan embassy and flew back home.
Chege returned to Kenya in January 2026 at a time when more reports were surfacing of Africans trapped or killed on the front lines of the Ukraine war.
Prime Cabinet Secretary (PCS) Musalia Mudavadi announced that the government has repatriated more than two dozen Kenyans from the war zone.
“We have facilitated 27 Kenyans to come back home away from the front line and from what they thought were different jobs but ended up being lured into battle,” he said.
Also Read: How Kenyan men are sneaked out of Kenya via JKIA to Russia for war
Shock tales of Kenyan men dying while fighting for Russia in Ukraine
