Ugandans lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine, reports say

A video posted online last month shows a group of soldiers in a snow-covered forest singing a Ugandan song. In the background, a Russian voice mocks them, calling them “disposable.”

Uganda has become the latest African country to uncover a forced recruitment network sending its citizens to fight and die for the Russian army on the front lines in Ukraine. Several media investigations, including one published Monday by AFP, have already sparked outrage in Kenya and South Africa.

Uganda has maintained close ties with Russia throughout President Yoweri Museveni’s 40-year rule, purchasing military equipment and abstaining from UN votes condemning the invasion of Ukraine.

“Call me a ‘Putinist’ if you want, but Uganda will send soldiers to defend Moscow if it is ever threatened by imperialists!” wrote the president’s son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, on social media in March 2023. Then a senior commander, he is now the country’s army chief.

Highly trained soldiers

Uganda is known for its well-trained troops, contributing large numbers to the international force in Somalia, as well as veterans to private security companies operating in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

An official from the Special Returnees Association, a veterans’ group, told AFP that some of its 20,000 members had recently been targeted by Russian recruiters. A recruitment agent offered veterans job contracts in Israel, only to send them to Russia instead, the official said, speaking anonymously.

He said he knew “more than ten” people who had gone to Russia, including three who died. “We told them… they would die with a bullet in their heads and their bodies buried in the ice or left to vultures,” he said.

“Secretly recruited”

Many others are believed to have suffered the same fate. In August, nine men were intercepted at Entebbe International Airport while traveling to Russia, according to an Ugandan intelligence source who spoke anonymously to AFP.

They were part of a group of more than 100 Ugandans with military experience who were “secretly recruited” and departing in waves at the time, the source said. However, no further action has been reported against the Russian trafficking networks. A Russian citizen arrested in connection with the case was later released, and the investigation has stalled, the source added.

Another Ugandan security source told AFP that some recruits are now leaving through Kenya.

Forced to sign “at gunpoint”

The video appearing to show Ugandans singing in a forest was shared last month by a pro-Ukrainian account. A Russian voice in the background says: “Look how many disposables there are here. And they are singing. They are happy. It doesn’t matter, now they will go (to the front) and they will sing differently.”

AFP was unable to verify where the video was filmed.

NTV recently aired an interview with a woman whose husband, Edson Kamwesigye, was killed in Ukraine last month. Shortly after his departure, photos of his lifeless body and identity documents circulated on social media.

Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Okello Oryem, told NTV that the government could not intervene in the repatriation process.

Richard Akantoran, a former cleaner from Kampala, was recently rescued by the Ukrainian army after escaping from his Russian unit.

In a video published by Ukraine’s military, he said he had been promised a job in a supermarket or as a security guard in Russia. Once there, he was forced to sign a contract with the army.

“A soldier pointed a gun at us and said, ‘You sign these papers,’” Akantoran said.

In February 2024, the Ugandan government posted a message on X from Russia’s ambassador claiming there were “unlimited opportunities for young people in Russia.”

“To my fellow Africans… do not fall into the trap,” Akantoran said in the video. “They promise you well-paid jobs in Russia… it’s a lie.”