In a video linked to Ukraine's 425th Separate Assault Regiment Kabugi recounted how a recruitment agency lured him to Russia under the promise of a professional job that matched his background as a computer science engineer. All costs including air tickets were covered making the offer seem too good to pass up.
Upon arrival in Russia Kabugi and others signed contracts after being assured they would not be involved in any combat. They were told their duties would align with their professional skills.
For Kabugi that meant he expected to work with systems communications or surveillance equipment.
That promise did not last long. Within days he was put through three weeks of military training and taught how to handle a weapon. He had no prior military experience whatsoever.
"I was not really prepared. How do you prepare in three weeks to go and fight a war? I was afraid," he said in the video.
He was eventually deployed near Kupyansk in Ukraine where he survived two separate drone attacks. After the first attack he expected to be pulled out and sent home but his commanders kept him in the field as fighting intensified around him.
Language barriers made the situation even more desperate. Kabugi barely understood the commands being given to him and spent much of his time in the field simply trying to find food and water alongside other soldiers.
Before his capture he and a group of Russian soldiers were hiding and waiting. Ukrainian forces eventually found them and took them in.
Kabugi said the Ukrainians did not harm him and provided him with food and warm clothing after his capture.
His message to other Kenyans considering similar offers was direct and heartfelt. "My advice is don't join the war between Ukraine and Russia. Be safe and stay in your country," he urged.
His current location and status remain unknown. The story emerged just a day after Ukrainian intelligence reported that several other Kenyan nationals had already been killed fighting on the Russian war.
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