James and Charles had never met before leaving Kenya. They came from different families but shared one dream to secure well-paying jobs abroad and uplift their loved ones.
They believed they would work ordinary jobs such as cooking or driving. Promises of attractive salaries and a better future convinced them to take the risk.
Instead, within weeks of arriving in Russia, they reportedly found themselves enlisted into the military and deployed to fight in a war they had no connection to.
Today, both are dead. Even in death, their families have never met or mourned together. The pain is compounded by the fact that their bodies have not been returned home.
Russian authorities reportedly offered two options — cremation with ashes sent back to Kenya, or burial in Russia with full military honours.
For the grieving families, both choices are unbearable. Cremation contradicts deeply held cultural beliefs, while burial in a foreign land denies them the chance to lay their sons to rest at home.
With no bodies to bury, the families performed symbolic funerals, laying banana stems in graves as a painful substitute for their loved ones.
For James’ family, the loss remains raw. His sister, Margaret, says their mother is yet to accept that her son is gone.
James was the only son in their small family. He had promised to buy land and change their lives. Minutes before leaving Kenya, he told his sister he was going to transform their future.
Charles’ mother, Bibiana Waithaka, is equally shattered. She had believed her son would earn up to Sh800,000 monthly. Instead, he later called home asking for financial help to survive.
His final call still haunts her.
“He cried and said, ‘Mama, mama today…’ before the line went dead,” she recalled. “That was the last time I heard my son’s voice.”
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