Russian Orthodox Church denies recruiting Africans for Ukraine war

The human rights organisation Vocal Africa alleged that the Church has brought young men to Russia for military recruitment, exploiting their trust of religious authorities.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Africa denied claims that it was recruiting for the Russian military, after some African countries reported deaths and injuries to their citizens on the Ukraine frontline.

In early April, Kenya said that 252 citizens had been recruited into the Russian military by rogue agents. Of this number, 47 have returned home while up to 16 are still missing. Recruiting agents, reportedly based in Kenya, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have been exploiting tourist visas and using indirect travel routes to evade detection.

Among other countries, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda have reported recruitments. Zimbabwe said 15 of its citizens had died in the war.

Fredrick Odhiambo Ojiro, the head of Rapid Response at the human rights organisation Vocal Africa, alleged that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) was using religion to engage the young men for recruitment.

Relying on Kenyans’ trust in religious authorities, church leaders have compared the programme to how the ROC once brought young people to Korea for fellowship programmes, missions and work, Odhiambo said.

“Using women, they have said the church has now come to provide similar opportunities for young men in Russia,” he said.

Metropolitan Constantine of Cairo and North Africa, the ROC Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, refuted the allegations that the Church was deceiving African citizens by offering them training or jobs in Russia but in fact sending them to conflict zones or arms factories. He said the ROC was present in Africa to bring the light of Christ, but not to attract African residents to Russia.

“I would also like to emphasise that almost all the clergy and laity of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa are citizens of African countries who pray for their governments, their homeland, and their people during services,” he said.

An ROC priest in Kenya, who cannot be named since he is not authorised to make public statements, said that while the Church sent Kenyans to study in seminaries in Russia, it did not have any connection with the army and can account for all those who have travelled.

“We warn them that this situation can happen,” said the priest. “And those who are there, we follow them day by day, what they do, where they are, and in case of indiscipline, we bring them back to Kenya.”

Clergy elsewhere in Africa warned of similar dangers for young men vulnerable to trafficking as they travel to find work.  Fr Augustine Anwuchie, a Nigerian missionary who has served in Niger, described the recruitment of Africans to fight for Russia as a development of the “Second Exodus” he has described in his poetry.

“The first Exodus is the transatlantic slavery forced on our people against their will by strangers. The second Exodus is this economic slavery, symbolised by human trafficking with its promise of greener pasture and better economic condition,” Fr Anwuchie told The Tablet.

He said that in search of working opportunities, many young Africans expose themselves to “a multi-million-dollar trafficking syndicate” that exploits the desperation of youths fleeing a continent plagued by “visionless leadership” and instability.

Yet he refused to present these young people purely as victims. While many are deceived, desperation often drives them to make calculated, morally culpable choices, he said, pointing to a viral video of a Nigerian youth in Russian military gear proudly boasting of earning millions and cursing those who claimed they were tricked.

The weapon used against them is not just coercion, but a crushing economic despair that makes a battlefield seem like a viable career path, Anwuchie said. To break the cycle, the African Church must evolve beyond abstract theology and the false hope of the “prosperity gospel” to become a practical haven.

“The first thing the Africa Church has do is to first adapt the sound of her theology and the rhythm of her evangelisation to address practical problem ravaging Africans,” he said.

“African Church should evangelise with a theology that speaks to the struggles and conditions of the people and not an abstract theology that is far removed from the people. Instead of always issuing communiques and condemning, the Church should also find a way to engage young people where the government has failed.”

By integrating carpentry, computer literacy and trades into parish life, the Church can offer real alternatives, he continued, supporting Africa’s young who can bring about a prosperous, self-sustaining continent: “The global future belongs to them.”

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