Published in The Observer, this article is part of Alameda’s After Order project

As the war in Ukraine approaches its sixth winter, Kenyans are among the African nationals recruited to Russian forces, sometimes after being misled that they were hired for civilian jobs

At first, Stephen doesn’t seem like the most talkative source. A Kenyan man in his early thirties, he has recently returned from the war in eastern Ukraine. In the living room of his family home in Nairobi, there is a series of framed photos along the back wall, including one with his beaming young daughter. But the most striking is a faded image of Stephen in military fatigues, aged 19. It shows the day of his graduation as a member of the Kenya Air Force.

After a decade of service, Stephen – not his real name – left in the early 2020s to sel spare car parts. Business was good until last year, when his promises was looted in a wave of unrest that followed Kenya’s 2024…

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