Kenyan media outlets have published conflicting reports on the alleged arrest of a Russian diplomat accused of recruiting mercenaries in Nairobi, after the Kyiv Post reported on September 29 that an embassy official was detained.

While some local outlets reported the detention of Russian national Mikhail Lyapin, the Russian Embassy in Nairobi has denied that he was ever arrested.

According to Nation Africa and other Kenyan outlets, detectives disrupted a scheme that had lured 22 Kenyan nationals with false promises of jobs abroad before allegedly funnelling them to fight in Ukraine on behalf of Russia. Local media identified Lyapin as an embassy employee questioned in connection with the case.

However, Capital FM Kenya and state broadcaster KBC quoted the Russian Embassy insisting that Lyapin faced only a “routine inquiry” by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on September 25. The embassy said he was not detained, had no official role at the embassy, and subsequently departed Kenya on previously scheduled travel.

As of the close of the workday on September 29, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations had yet to issue a formal statement on the case. If confirmed, the recruitment effort would mark one of the most high-profile interventions by African authorities into alleged Russian military networks since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

Kenya, which has consistently backed UN resolutions defending Ukraine’s sovereignty, is seen as a key Western partner in East Africa. 

An Associated Press investigation in October 2024 showed that women from African countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and others, were recruited with promises of work-study programs, hospitality, training, or other civil roles. Instead, many ended up in a factory in Russia assembling military drones for use in the Ukraine conflict.

Moscow has relied on Russian paramilitary groups such as Wagner and its successors to expand influence in conflict-torn states in Africa, including Mali, the Central African Republic, and Sudan.