Why Ruto had to meet Putin at the Kremlin after the Summit

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and President William Ruto on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on October 29, 2026. [AFP]

When the Kenyan delegation was preparing to attend the just-ended Moscow summit on Africa, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres submitted a report of the independent international Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to the General Assembly citing Russia for atrocities against civilians in Ukraine and leading the illegal recruitment of fighters in the Global South.

The report, dated October 19, calls on Russia to immediately discharge from its army all foreign nationals who are victims of human trafficking and provide them with appropriate protection and assistance to return to their countries of origin. The report now awaits consideration by the General Assembly, which has the flexibility to call special sessions.

The independent commission also wants Russia to engage with countries whose nationals are victims of trafficking to address the situation of those who have been wounded or killed while ensuring participation of families that are now looking for their relatives duped to join the war – in Kenya the families have petitioned parliament and will have another session with Senate committees in early November.

The UN Commission report cites Kenya among African countries that have had their nationals duped to serve in the Russian army. Other African countries listed as falling victims to the deception are; Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Somalia, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

It was while the report was being taken through the UN’s bureaucracy in New York that President William Ruto joined representatives from 48 African countries among them 22 presidents at the Moscow Summit. His last post on X on October 30 about his engagements in Moscow, carried a most relevant message to families that have lost relatives to Russia’s war and had been following the Moscow sessions. The post said.

“Held talks with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation at the Kremlin, Moscow, after the conclusion of the Russia-Africa Summit........Thanked President Putin for confirming that Kenyans will no longer be enlisted into the Russian military because Kenya has been categorised a non-source country for recruitment into the Russian military”.

Ruto said he informed President Putin that he had appointed a defence attaché at the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow, who will liaise with the Russian Ministry of Defence in processing the return of Kenyans who are serving in the Russian army.

“The defence attaché will work with the Russian Ministry of Defence to process compensation for Kenyans and to assist in their safe return home”.

Government estimates have placed the number of Kenyans recruited to serve in the Russian army at a conservative figure of 354 but families have disputed the figure, placing the number at 841. The state intelligence agency in a February report to parliament, placed the figure at more than 1000.

The families that have lost relatives and have come together in an unregistered group of at least 100 families, are reluctant to believe President Ruto’s pronouncement.

Spokesman Peter Kamau told The Standard that the signs that come out as they engage state officials who run negotiations with Russian authorities do not reveal the existence of political goodwill on both sides to release their relatives.

 He said some of their relatives serving in the Russian army have completed their contracts but none has been released to return home. During Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi’s visit to Moscow in mid Marc Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov promised release of Kenyans that complete their contracts.

Save for agreeing to place Kenya on ‘a stop list’ in recruitment Lavrov promised that serving Kenyans had signed contracts with his country’s department of defence and had to complete their term.

“I don't think this is honest. If it was, then those Kenyans whose contracts ended months ago would have been released,” Kamau told The Standard.

“The absence of specific timelines for a sensitive issue like this, which in fact involves the lives of hundreds of Kenyan citizens raises more questions than answers. The government should also convene a stakeholders meeting so that families can equally get first-hand information on the status of the recruits.”

Claims have emerged from select rights groups in Kenya about Ukraine also hiring foreign fighters to fight in the war of defence against Russia.  The independent commission report has distinguished between the two; the case of hiring of the willing and the unwilling.

The report says  “Since the onset of the full-scale invasion in 2022, thousands of foreigners have joined the Russian armed forces or the Ukrainian armed forces. While many joined voluntarily, others were recruited through coercion or deception. In this report, we have excluded situations where persons joined both armed forces knowingly and voluntarily. We have focused our investigations on recruitment in violation of international law”

The commission wants Ukrainian authorities to sort out the prisoner of war cases. Kenya has 5 of its nationals serving an indefinite time in Ukrainian prisoner of war camps. Ukrainian authorities have been holding nationals from 59 countries among them 18 men from Africa – the men either surrendered or were captured while fighting for Russia in the ongoing war.

Of the 18 Africans 5 are Kenyans and 2 have been officially identified by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi during his appearances before parliament. The two are Evans Kibet and Willy Macharia Muniu. A third POW named Antony Kibet was, two weeks ago, identified by a family from Mt Elgon, Bungoma as their relative.  A fourth Kenyan POW emerged last week through a video shared by Ukrainian authorities. He said his name was Francis Ndungu- The Standard is yet to trace his family in the country.

The commission wants Ukraine to engage with states whose nationals are victims of trafficking and are currently held as prisoners of war to determine and implement appropriate arrangements addressing their specific situation, including through transfer to their country of origin, in compliance with the Third Geneva Convention.

 A few days to the summit the prisoners of war sent out a message to African leaders attending the summit. In a recorded video released by the I want to live project which is run by the Ukrainian Department of Defence a POW from Botswana, Odirile Martin Mompoloki spoke on behalf of his colleagues. The men in blue tunics stood behind him. The I want to live project has been sharing information about illegal recruiments in Africa and affairs of the POWs

"We've been here in captivity for quite some time, and it's like we are now forgotten. We are worried about our families our relatives who don’t know our fate” Said Mompoloki. He added “Since there is an upcoming Russia-African Summit, I would wish for our plight to be addressed to this meeting by our governments...... that they present our case to the summit so that it can be discussed and that there should be a prisoner- exchange"

The summit, however, ended without a single word being uttered regarding the fate of the POWs or a statement stating the stand of the continent on effects of the war on nationals of African countries

The summit, unlike the last two, 2019 and 2023 ended without a joint statement by African leaders detailing their responses to Putin after the October 28–29, 2026 summit. All the coverage focused on Putin’s speeches and bilateral meetings with 22 heads of state from the 48-country delegations present.

The absence of a joint statement at the end of the summit raises concerns among African leaders about the effectiveness of their partnership with Russia, as it highlighted a lack of tangible commitments and accountability in their relations. This may lead to increased scepticism regarding Russia’s ability to fulfil its promises and support African nation’s needs.