The African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church is luring Kenyans into the war in Ukraine. This is reported by the American religious news agency Religion News Service, citing the human rights organization Vocal Africa.

Young citizens of Kenya are offered trips to Russia for work or study, with the church pledging to sponsor the travel, the outlet Istories.media writes.

“They tell young people that the church now provides such opportunities for youth in Russia. They also use women to establish closer contact, since they appear calm and inspire more trust,” said Fredrick Odiambo Ojiro, head of rapid response at Vocal Africa.

Kenyans are brought to Russia on tourist visas. They are promised a salary of 3,000 dollars, but they never receive the money. Upon arrival in Russia, their documents are confiscated, bank accounts are opened for them that are in fact controlled by commanders, and after that they are sent to the front.

One victim of the scheme was 31 year old Charles Waitaka Wangari, whose death in the war in Ukraine became known in December 2025. As Massimo Introvigne, director of the Center for Studies on New Religions, writes, Wangari was a promising footballer, and recruiters from the Russian Orthodox Church promised him that after traveling to Russia he would be able to join a professional team in Sweden.

According to human rights defenders, about 500 Kenyans have been recruited in this way over the past two years to fight in Ukraine. Around 200 families from Kenya have contacted Vocal Africa for help for relatives who ended up in the war in Ukraine under similar circumstances.

Kenyan intelligence reported that more than 1,000 Kenyans have ended up at the front in the ranks of the Russian army.

In early February, the government of Kenya publicly called on Russia to stop the recruitment campaign.

Formally, the entire African continent falls under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. At the end of 2021, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church created the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa. Theodore II, Patriarch of Alexandria, condemned the decision of the Russian Orthodox Church to establish its own structure in Africa. As previously reported by LF, the Kremlin uses the Russian Orthodox Church as an instrument of influence in Africa and recruits local residents with its help to participate in the war against Ukraine.

It was also previously reported that the Russian Orthodox Church officially approved its presence in Cameroon through the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa. President Paul Biya signed a decree granting legal status and officially permitting the activities of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa of the Russian Orthodox Church on the territory of Cameroon. Earlier we wrote about how Russia is reshaping Africa and the Global South.

In the photo:
Footballer Charles Waitaka Wangari died in the Russian Ukrainian war, and his body could not be found. Photo Associated Press, Andrew Kasuku