Police have arrested Festus Omwamba in Moyale for allegedly recruiting Kenyans into Russia’s military, marking a major step in cracking down on a scheme that’s sent hundreds to fight in Ukraine.
The 33-year-old, real name Festus Arasa Omwamba, got picked up late Wednesday by detectives from the Transnational Organised Crime Unit at Moyale Police Station, right on the border with Ethiopia. Officers say he tried to slip out of the country shortly after flying back from Russia.
Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri confirmed the grab, adding that Omwamba now sits at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters along Kiambu Road for questioning. Muchiri kept it short: investigations roll on, and more details should come soon.
This arrest ties straight into a bigger storm that’s been building for months. Kenya’s National Intelligence Service dropped a report last week saying over 1,000 young Kenyans got pulled into Russia’s forces since the Ukraine war heated up.
Out of those, 89 reportedly sit on the front lines right now, 39 ended up in hospitals, and 28 vanished without a trace. Families have protested in Nairobi, holding photos of missing sons and brothers, demanding the government bring them home or at least explain what happened.
Omwamba ran Global Face Human Resource Ltd, the agency at the centre of it all. He promised desperate job seekers good-paying civilian work in Russia – construction, security, and cleaning gigs with fat bonuses up to Ksh 1.2 million.
Instead, recruits landed in military boot camps, got handed guns, and were shipped to battle zones. Some survivors told stories of being tricked, forced to sign up, or threatened if they refused.
Court papers later named him in trafficking 25 specific Kenyans between late 2024 and September 2025, operating out of spots like Great Walls Gardens in Athi River.
The timing of his return and quick attempt to bolt raised red flags everywhere. Why come back now if things were fine? Why run through a remote border town? Police think he knew the heat was on after NIS named him publicly and families kept pushing.
His earlier denials – he once claimed he only helped with legit jobs and worked as a cleaning supervisor there – don’t hold up against the evidence piling up.
This hits hard in a country already hurting from high unemployment. Young men, hit hardest by job shortages, fall easy prey to overseas promises that sound too good.
Social media filled with anger and heartbreak as videos of grieving mothers circulated. Some call for tougher laws on rogue agencies; others want the government to track every Kenyan heading to Russia and stop the pipeline before more lives get lost.
Omwamba’s capture feels like a win for those families. He’s the face most tied to the operation, and holding him could lead to more arrests or help bring missing people back. But questions remain: who else helped coordinate from Moscow? How deep do the networks run? And will this stop the flow, or just slow it for a bit?
For now, Omwamba faces human trafficking charges, with a court appearance coming fast – some reports say he already appeared in an anti-terror court in Nairobi on Thursday. The case draws eyes from Al Jazeera, France 24, the Washington Post, and local outlets like Nation and NTV.
International pressure on Russia is also growing, but in Kenya the focus is still on protecting the weak from being sent to fight in someone else’s conflict.
As police look into this more, more stories may come out about how it all began and who made money from it. Families are waiting for answers and hoping that this arrest will bring some justice and maybe even keep the next group from falling into the same trap.
