A Kenyan family is seeking answers and support to repatriate the body of their 29-year-old relative, who was killed in Ukraine while fighting for Russia.
Clinton Nyapara Mogesa, 29, initially left Kenya for a job in Qatar in 2024, but later told his relatives that he was travelling to Russia.
On Saturday, Ukrainian authorities reported that he had died in a so-called “meat assault” – one involving high casualty numbers – in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, after being recruited in Qatar. They said the Russians did not evacuate his body, and he was carrying the passports of two other Kenyans.
His death comes amid growing concerns about Kenyans being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Vincent Okemwa, Mogesa’s cousin, said they did not believe it when they were informed of his death. He said the news was first relayed to Mogesa’s brother by a colleague who had a relative in Russia, before it was made public.
He told the BBC Newsday programme that Mogesa had notified them when he moved to Russia from Qatar and they were in communication during his training there for three weeks.
They had however not heard from him after the training, and the last time they had spoken was on 28 October.
Okemwa told the BBC that after his death, Mogesa’s family was now in a “pathetic state”. He said Mogesa’s father had sold land to facilitate his son’s travel to Qatar and he was his family’s hope for a better life.
“I don’t know how I can put it, but things are not good,” he said.
“He had good plans for the family and now everything has been
shattered.”
– BBC