Government officials knock on Russia's door for jobs despite loss of Kenyan lives

Some may see it as bullishness, while others would believe that it is an honest attempt by government officials to ink job deals for Kenyans abroad. What emerges, however, are more questions than answers as government officials keep trooping to the Russian capital, Moscow, and territories frowned upon by a larger part of the world, following reports of human trafficking.

At first, it was Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua while he led the Foreign Affairs docket cozying up to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. In several sessions and meetups, among other issues discussed were jobs for Kenyans in Russia. Dr Mutua publicly flagged off a team of Kenyans en route to Russia for jobs. In recent days, he has been trying to fight off claims about illegal recruitment to Russia, including a social media post that spotted his picture.

Kenya’s voice in Moscow Ambassador Peter Mathuki, at a conference held in a Nairobi hotel for Kenya’s envoys in April, responded to enquiries about Russia’s Special Economic Zone with high praise for Alabuga SEZ and claimed that negative reports in the media about Alabuga were part of ongoing Western propaganda against Russia. Mathuki has visited Alabuga SEZ before.

The latest was a visit by officials of the National Employment Authority (NEA) who were quoted as having given a thumbs up to an entity reported in the international media to be “a living hell of grinding labor, racism, and entrapment into working in drone factories for African women.”

Coming at a time when nearly 100 families spread across the country mourn the loss of their relatives in Russia, the visit by NEA whose core responsibility is to ensure safe job opportunities for Kenyans locally and abroad, the visit easily elicits varied interpretations, including collusion to aid human trafficking.

“We want to be unequivocal; the Government of Kenya does not endorse and will not facilitate the recruitment of Kenyans into conflict work of any nature.” Was the tarse response from Edith Okoko, Director General, National Employment Authority. She added: “Where this has happened, it has occurred outside our legal pathways and amounts to exploitation by unscrupulous agents and organized criminal elements. We are actively pursuing those cases and are engaging the Russian government through formal diplomatic channels”.

International media have been hot on the heels of Russia’s Special Economic zone that is based in the Tatarstan Republic of the Russian Federation. Cases of predatory recruitment have been reported as Alabuga SEZ is said to be a veil being used by Moscow to entice African youths into war factories.

“No formal deals were signed in my visit to Alabuga SEZ” said Okoko. “This was primarily a fact-finding mission. What the delegation did agree to was continued engagement with Alabuga SEZ on how to explore legitimate job opportunities for Kenyans, not in drone manufacturing as has been alleged, but in fields such as hospitality, manufacturing, education, and vocational training through the Alabuga Polytechnic. Any opportunities that emerge from these discussions will go through our full government vetting and sanctioning process. The safety and welfare of Kenyan workers remain non-negotiable”.

Russia’s recruitment from the Global South and specifically Africa has drawn the attention of no less an entity than the United States Congress, which is considering a Bill tabled before it seeking to impose sanctions on foreign persons and governments participating in facilitating the recruitment of foreign nationals from African countries for the purpose of fighting in the war in Ukraine.

The Bill also cites Russia’s Special Economic Zone as responsible for recruiting youthful African women into slave-labour, making drones under the Alabuga Start programme.

Tabled last month (May 7^th) at the 119^th session of Congress by Joe Wilson, representative for South Carolina’s 2nd congressional district and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois 1^st Congressional District. In their findings the congressmen said that African women have been lured to the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of  Tatarstan- Russia through a recruitment scheme targeting 18-to-22-year-old women, promising them professional training in logistics, catering, and hospitality.

“Instead, these women are subjected to hazardous factory conditions and used to build drones. By some estimates, more than 1,000 women have been recruited from across Africa to work in Alabuga’s weapons factories”. States the bill.

It was here that Okoko, led a delegation of officials to visit in March. Following the visit the Alabuga program reported on its website that the guests got acquainted with the program; the infrastructure, working and living conditions of the girls as well as the organization of the educational process. Special emphasis was placed on learning the Russian language.  Okoko noted the high discipline in the classroom- The website reports.

Okoko expressed her sincere admiration for the level of organisation of the Alabuga Start programme. Sharing their impressions of communicating with the girls, they emphasized “you can see from the girls’ eyes that they are happy, and this is the most important thing”

The report added that during the dialogue, the parties discussed the prospects for further cooperation. The members of the delegation highly appreciated the potential of the Alabuga Start programme and confirmed their interest in developing long-term partnerships.

Responding to questions by The Standard, the Authority said the delegation visited different parts of Russia to assess conditions on the ground.

“In the Tambov region, we found Kenyans working in legitimate agribusiness jobs,” said NEA, adding: “Despite earlier concerns about security, the workers themselves reported being satisfied with their work conditions”.

The delegation also visited Tatarstan and the Alabuga Polytechnic and the Pyramid, which serves as a residential facility for program participants.

“We met with beneficiaries of the Alabuga Start programme, who spoke positively about their experiences. We also sat in on a Russian language class where we met participants from other African countries, including Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda, and held discussions with the Alabuga SEZ management about their operations and the programme.”

On March 16 last year the Daily Mail reported that in a closed-off facility around 620 miles east of Moscow, the Kremlin is luring hundreds of young African women to Russia with promises of a better life. But what awaits them is not a Slavic paradise, but a living hell of grinding labour, racism, and in some cases, even prostitution. The publication said that Alabuga SEZ is a compound in western Russia filled with dull corporate buildings that speak to Russia's Soviet past more than its hi-tech wars of the present.  But this is a region that produces some of the most devastating weaponry that Moscow uses for its bloody war on Ukraine.

Working with a secretive Ukrainian investigative group called 'Inception', MailOnline was able to uncover a series of shocking revelations about a scheme that brings African students from across the continent to Alabuga.

The 'Alabuga Start' program was set up in 2023 for foreign students who want to relocate to Russia. Its website declares that it is 'designed for ambitious girls between 18-22 years.' It promises job opportunities, scholarships, fully funded training, Russian language courses, accommodation, paid flights to Russia, and health insurance.

In some adverts that The Standard has seen, candidates are promised a salary of $700 per month – a huge sum in their home countries.  But when they land at SEZ what they see reveal a shocking situation.

MailOnline said a Ugandan currently in Russia revealed that almost everything they were promised was false. 'The working hours are longer, and the payment is not the $700 that we were promised,' she said in a message to Ugandan publication New Vision. We sleep in hostels and are constantly monitored. Besides, the $700 that we were promised is subject to a lot of deductions, including accommodation, bus fare and taxes.'

On May 13 2025 The Sun wrote that the Russian Federation has been accused of tricking the Nigerian government to traffic young Nigerian girls to Alabuga, Russia, to build suicide drones. A Daily Sun source told its correspondent that “Russia is trafficking young Nigerian women to build suicide drones in Alabuga, Russia.”

However, when contacted for reaction, a media officer at the Embassy of Russia in Abuja, Daria Senyushina, wanted to know how Daily Sun came about the information “Where did you find this information? Who gave it to you?” the media officer responded via WhatsApp at 2:04pm.

Calls made to separate lines of Senyushina and the outgoing media officer, Yury Paramanov at 4:05, 4:07 and 4:13pm respectively were not responded to, reported The Sun.

Further responses from Senyushina were: “Please send me the link or the source of information,” “Please ask your colleagues to share it with you,” “If you ask questions, please do not hesitate to back up your words with sources,” and “Any response?”

The Daily Sun source also said more alarmingly was that the danger has increased as Ukraine has launched its own drones at the factory and surrounding living quarters to disrupt production, most recently attacking the site on April 23, 2025.