A Kenyan family has appealed to the government to intervene and facilitate the repatriation of the body of a former General Service Unit (GSU) officer who was allegedly killed while fighting in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The family, speaking to media, said the former officer had previously been stationed at a GSU barracks in Embu before resigning from the General Service Unit. They claimed he later travelled to Russia after being promised a monthly salary of Sh400,000.
According to his mother, the family escorted him to the airport on a Monday when he departed for Russia. She alleged that he had been recruited into the Russian army by an unidentified Russian national.
“When we arrived at the airport, we found that there were many police officers who were in the company of one Russian,” she said.
The family revealed that after more than three months at the war front, one of his colleagues contacted them on January 28 to inform them that he had been killed by an explosive while on duty.
They further claimed that before his death, he had informed them that all his personal documents, including his identification card and passport, had been destroyed during the conflict.
“We were talking with him for more than three months, and he told me that all his belongings had been destroyed. Then on January 28, we were informed that he had been killed by an explosive,” his mother recounted.
The grieving family is now seeking confirmation of his death and any remains or personal effects that could enable them to conduct a burial. “I just want a confirmation, maybe a shoe or a cloth, so that we may bury it. It will be better than his body and belongings just being left there,” she pleaded.
In a related development, the Embassy of Kenya in Moscow recently cautioned Kenyans against travelling to Russia for employment through unverified channels.
In a statement issued on February 15, the embassy warned that seeking jobs through social media platforms, messaging applications, or unlicensed agents could limit access to government assistance if individuals encounter difficulties abroad.
The embassy also advised Kenyans against travelling to Russia on tourist visas in search of employment and urged those already residing in the Russian Federation, Belarus, or Kazakhstan to register with the mission.
“The Embassy is working with authorities in both countries to address emerging fraudulent recruitment networks and urges all those seeking jobs abroad to verify before finding themselves in circumstances beyond control,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of Russia in Kenya has dismissed allegations linking it to the recruitment of Kenyan nationals to fight in the Ukraine conflict.
The Kenyan government has yet to issue an official statement regarding the family’s appeal.
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