Dennis Ngunga Muthui Left Kitui for a Driver's Job in Russia. Ten Months Later, His Family Still Does Not Know If He Is Alive.

Dennis Ngunga Muthui was 33 years old when he left Kitui, Kenya, on August 25, 2025, after being recruited through Globeface Human Resources Ltd, an employment agency that had promised him work as a driver in Russia. He travelled with at least five other Kenyans. 

When he arrived, he called home and told his family he had been enlisted into the Russian military. "He told us that he had been enlisted in the military and he had no other option than to join," his sister Lynn Vata Muthui said. The story was reported by The Kenyan Diaspora Media.

He sent his family a photo with himself wearing a Russian military uniform and holding a dog tag. He told his family this was all he had been given. In some of his final communications, Dennis told he was heading toward the Russia-Ukraine border to fight.

His phone went off on October 1, 2025. It has not been reachable since.

Family Left Without Answers

Dennis's sister Lynn and his niece Lenah have made multiple attempts to establish his whereabouts. They contacted the Russian Embassy in Kenya and Kenya's State Department for Diaspora Affairs (SDDA). Neither has provided information that has helped the family determine whether Dennis is alive, injured, in captivity or still involved in the conflict.

His father has been particularly affected. "No one is at peace," Lynn said. "We want to know how he is doing."

The family is now appealing to Kenyan authorities and anyone with information about Dennis's location to come forward.

What the Government Knows

Kenya's government has acknowledged the scale of the recruitment problem. Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu has confirmed that the government documented 289 Kenyans who had been recruited into Russia's military at some point. Of those, 64 had returned to Kenya and 69 were confirmed dead or missing in action. Officials have also acknowledged that the actual number is likely higher, given limited information from the conflict zone and the range of routes through which recruits travelled.

For Dennis's family, those figures and those agreements do not answer the one question they are asking. 

Where to Find the Answers

Families in search for a relatives who went missing while serving in the Russian Armed Forces, can contact the "I Want to Find" project - a unified center for searching the servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine. Other recommendations to families can be found here.