- Dancan Chege was informed by his friends that a local agency was hiring Kenyans willing to work as drivers in Russia
- He was promised KSh 3 million when he arrived in Moscow, and believed the deal was too good to pass up
- Upon arrival, he was forced to join the Russian army along with 10 other Kenyans, who were killed in the first week of the operation.
It has been almost four years since Russia invaded it Ukrainelaunching airstrikes that prompted a swift response from Kyiv.
Source: Facebook
There was fear, tension and anxiety. The world was unstable due to the daring invasion and the huge explosions that followed.
Many had hoped that the two nations would not go to war. And even when the first missile was fired, there was still hope that the war would not last long.
Others thought that Ukraine would accept and fulfill the wishes of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. It didn’t happen.
Fighting intensified, and the world was pushed to the brink of recession. Many countries that depended on oil and agricultural supplies from Kyiv and Moscow felt the pinch.
In Kimende, Kiambu county, Dancan Chege did not care much about what was going on in Eastern Europe and North Asia.
At no point did he ever imagine that he would find himself in the middle of a deadly conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Three years and 10 months later, Chege found himself in Russian military uniform leading an attack against Ukraine. He had never even thought of fighting for Kenya, let alone a foreign country.
How did Dancan Chege find himself in Russia?
Like many young Kenyans looking for work, Chege was persuaded by his friends to move to Moscow.
A local agency was hiring Kenyans willing to go to Russia to work as drivers, and Chege believed the deal was good. He submitted his application and was selected along with 10 others.
“I knew I would be a driver, but when we got to Moscow, things changed. We were sent to a camp and forced to sign contracts to fight against Russia,” recalled Chege.
He never held a gun or dreamed of engaging in a gunfight. They were trained for a month how to use firearms, oil tankers, drones, missiles and other modern weapons.
“The training itself was torture. It was like they wanted to kill us. We were training 24 hours a day for a month. There was no time to rest. I felt like we were already on the battlefield,” he recalled.
Chege was promised KSh 3 million when he arrived in Russia, but he did not receive the money. He arrived in Russia in November 2025 and was sent to fight for Putin’s people in December.
“My account had a problem, and it took a long time to solve it. There are those comrades who received payment, but most of them died on the battlefield,” explained the Kenyan survivor.
A week after crossing the border into Ukraine to carry out attacks, 10 colleagues from Kenya were shot and left in the forest.
“We were 11 when we left the country for Russia. When we were sent to Ukraine, all my comrades from Kenya were killed, 10 of them. I was the only one who survived. It is by the grace of God that I left Ukraine alive,” said Chege.
He drew a picture of a terrible incident while on the field. For the African fighters, the enemy is not only the Ukrainian soldiers determined to protect their territory, but also the Russian soldiers, who should be their allies.
According to Chege, Russian soldiers “don’t care how someone feels”. Their orders must be followed regardless of the danger they pose.
Those who try to resist or question the orders are attacked, harassed and tortured until they comply.
“I saw thousands of bodies. People are killed every minute. It’s traumatizing. I’ve heard some Kenyans say they want to go to Russia; let them not try. I have direct experience, and I can tell you it’s a death trap. The chances of survival are 1% at most,” he warned survivors.
So how did Chege manage to escape Russia?
When Chege found out that all his colleagues from Kenya had been killed, he began to secretly plan how to escape from the stadium. He knew it was a risky move, but he was determined to do it anyway.
“I began to live like a madman. I could take a gun and spray bullets randomly. Sometimes I cried, I threw myself on a roll on the floor and so on. I did everything that crazy people do. Finally, the commander ordered me to be taken to a military hospital for examination.
He was sent back to Russia for treatment. The trip took three days. All this time, Chege held on to his crazy writings.
He was taken to three hospitals for psychiatric evaluation.
It was at the third station that he decided to test the compassion and mercy of one of the doctors who were attending to him.
“I told him that my family had been involved in an accident and I had lost them. I asked him to let me go so that I could look after them,” he recalled.
The doctor was moved by her story and agreed to release her. He called and instructed the soldier who brought Chege to the station to accompany him to the army camp for a permit.
When they left the hospital, Chege decided: he would rather be killed than return to the military camp.
He asked a Russian soldier to accompany him to the Kenyan embassy, allegedly to collect money that some Kenyans had donated to help him following the death of his family members.
“He agreed, but I think he knew the plan but decided to play with him. He was a good friend. I still talk to him until now,” Chege said.
When they arrived at the embassy, Chege switched to Kiswahili and asked one of the women to help him escape from Russia. They quickly took action and arranged his trip back to Kenya.
“I didn’t have any money because when I was running away, my account wasn’t adjusted.” All I wanted was to go home, and I thank my family because when they heard that I had escaped, they sent money for the ticket,” said the survivor.
Chege arrived in Kenya on Friday, January 16. Since then he has been sharing horrific videos of what was happening on the battlefield.
In one of the videos he recently shared on his account TikTokhe described how the Ukrainian military was using advanced tanks and drones that could see and chase enemies even from the thickest bushes.
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