Families of Kenyans who died, disappeared or were captured after travelling to Russia will have to wait longer for answers after the Senate postponed a hearing into their recruitment into foreign military service.
The Senate committees investigating the matter suspended the proceedings on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, after Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi, Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua and the Attorney-General failed to appear.
Mudavadi and Mutua told the Senate they were attending a Cabinet meeting in Kisumu, while the Attorney-General’s office said the AG was out of town.
The three officials had been expected to face questions from a joint sitting of the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare and the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations.
Their absence frustrated relatives who had travelled from different parts of the country to give accounts of what happened to their family members.
Seven relatives representing more than 800 affected families arrived from Nyeri, Kericho, Nakuru and other areas to appear before the committees.
Bibiana Wangari was among those who testified. Her son died after travelling to Russia, leaving the family seeking answers over the circumstances surrounding his death.
Winnie Rose Wainaina also appeared before the Senate and told the committees that her brother, Samuel Wainaina, has been missing since late October.
Other families reported that their relatives were being held as prisoners of war in Ukraine, while some had gone missing after being deployed to the front.
The failure of the government officials to attend prompted senators to call for the hearing to be postponed until they could appear in person.
Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa questioned the value of collecting evidence from the families without the officials responsible for the relevant government dockets present.
“Receiving evidence from the families without the CSs present would be an academic exercise,” Thang’wa said.
Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu agreed, saying the relevant State officers should be present as the petitioners gave their accounts and raised their concerns.
The relatives supported the senators’ position and asked that the hearing be held when they could meet the government officials directly, saying they wanted to engage them “eye to eye”.
The committees heard that the number of Kenyans recruited into foreign military service could be more than 1,000.
The inquiry also received information about a raid at Great Wall Gardens in Athi River, where 22 people were reportedly found being processed for travel to Russia by two alleged Kenyan handlers.
The recruitment process reportedly involves promises of Russian citizenship and monthly salaries of about Sh350,000. Recruits are also allegedly offered bonuses of up to Sh1.2 million.
However, some of those who travelled to Russia were allegedly stripped of their identity documents after arriving in the country and forced to serve in the military.
The Senate is now expected to resume the hearing on September 29, 2026, when Mudavadi, Mutua and the Attorney-General are expected to appear.
The officials will be required to respond to the accounts presented by the affected families and answer questions about the recruitment of Kenyans into foreign military service.
They will also face questions on the agencies involved in the recruitment and the steps being taken to secure the release and safe return of Kenyans affected by the process.