Russia-Ukraine war: Ugandan security vindicated as Africans plead for saving

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On August 13, Uganda’s security team at Entebbe Airport intercepted a group of nine men who were slated to fly to Moscow in what was suspected to be a recruitment drive of mercenaries for the Russia-Ukraine war front. 

Two Russian nationals suspected to have been behind the recruitment syndicate were arrested but later released after about a week.

Following the arrest, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces warned that any Ugandan who gets recruited to go and fight in the Russia-Ukraine war would face dire consequences.

“Ugandans are forbidden from being recruited to participate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Anyone who dares will be punished severely,” he stated in a message shared on his X handle.

Two months after the incident, Uganda has been vindicated for taking the pre-emptive action. Nationals of other countries that did not take action at the time of the recruitment have started receiving distress calls from their citizens who are trapped at the Russia-Ukraine war front.

Both Kenya and South Africa announced last week that scores of their citizens are currently trapped at the Russia-Ukraine war front.

Speaking to the media in Nairobi last week, Kenya’s foreign minister and prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi confirmed that unscrupulous individuals flew some Kenyans out of the country with the promise of well-paying jobs, only to be conscripted into the war machinations.

“Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, recruitment drives have expanded into Africa… The ministry has continued to receive inquiries from families regarding relatives reportedly involved in the war. Reports suggest that over 200 Kenyans may have joined this adventure or misadventure,” Kenya’s foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi told the press in Nairobi two weeks ago.

The foreign minister said most of the victims were ex-servicemen.

Mudavadi further announced that his country’s security had since raided a recruitment centre at Athi River, a Nairobi suburb and arrested some of the foreign recruiters, where 21 Kenyans were intercepted. Even after the arrest, Mudavadi said recruitment networks were still open, warning that the act could be dangerous to the country’s security.

South Africans trapped

After Kenya, South Africa also announced that 17 of its citizens were trapped in the Donbas region of Russia, where they had been lured into fighting the war.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told the media that South Africa was going to investigate how 17 of its nationals aged 29-39 ended up at the warfront in Russia’s Donbas region.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into those seemingly mercenary activities,” he said.

Magwenya said 16 of the men, who were trapped in Russian Donbas region, where fighting is taking place, were from KwaZulu-Natal and one from the Eastern Cape.

"President Ramaphosa and the South African government strongly condemn the exploitation of young, vulnerable people by individuals working with foreign military entities," he added.

Uganda army spokesperson warns

In defence of Uganda’s security architecture, Maj. Gen Felix Kulayigye, Uganda People’s Defence Forces spokesperson, asserted the Chief of Defence Forces’ (CDF) decisive action in August was a turning point, crediting strong intelligence systems for averting what he described as a “sinister recruitment plot.”

He noted that in August, security agents intercepted nine Ugandan men at Entebbe Airport who were allegedly being trafficked to fight in the Russia–Ukraine war, a move he said was only possible because “our intelligence apparatus works before the threat becomes a crisis.”

Kulayigye added that CDF’s public warning at the time played a critical role in deterring any further recruitment.

“That message was not just rhetoric,” Kulayigye told New Vision Online on November 27, 2025. 

He added: “It sent a clear signal, backed by concrete action, that we will not allow our citizens to be manipulated into foreign conflicts.”

He also insisted that since that intervention, there have been no further credible attempts reported to recruit Ugandans into fighting in any war across the world.

“Our nervousness then was justified, but thanks to CDF’s guidance and constant vigilance, we have not witnessed a repeat of such schemes,” he said, underscoring what he called the maturity of Uganda’s national security institutions.

Kulayigye urged Ugandans, particularly ex-military personnel to remain wary of suspicious offers abroad, and to report them immediately: “We rely on our intelligence, but we also depend on citizens to alert us. That is how we keep Uganda safe.”