The family of a Kenyan man who lost his life in the ongoing Ukraine–Russia war has disclosed that he left Kenya under the impression he was traveling to Qatar for a security position. However, communication abruptly ceased before news of his death surfaced online.
During an interview with a local TV station on Saturday, February 7, 2026, John Ombwori revealed that his son, Denis Bagaka Ombwori, had informed the family of his plans to work as a security guard in Qatar.
Ombwori expressed that the family maintained regular communication for about one to two months after his departure, but all contact ended unexpectedly. “My son went to Qatar as a security guard. We communicated for about a month or two. After that, all communication stopped,” Ombwori stated.
The family only discovered their son’s death after social media reports indicated that he had been involved in the fighting in Ukraine. “It was only yesterday that I learned from social media that my son was caught up in the Ukraine–Russia war,” he added.
Denis Bagaka Ombwori, a former soldier in the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), was among two bodies recently found near Lyman in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. His remains were located alongside those of another Kenyan national, Clinton Nyapara Mogesa, who was also killed in the same area.
According to the family, Ombwori is one of several Kenyans allegedly misled by unscrupulous recruitment agencies that promised lucrative security jobs in countries like Qatar, only for them to find themselves entangled in the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukrainian intelligence, in a statement shared via X, confirmed that all three Kenyans were recruited in Qatar, where they worked for security companies offering attractive salaries. “DIU reports that the bodies of two more Kenyan citizens, recruited by the aggressor state of Russia to wage a criminal war against Ukraine, have been found near the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region,” the post read.
Bagaka and Mogesa arrived at a recruitment center in Yaroslavl, Russia, on September 27, 2025. Wahome Simon Gititu, whose body was found alongside Bagaka’s, joined them a month later, on October 28, 2025.
