The Centre for Innovation and Technology, CITE, has urged African leaders attending the Third Russia–Africa Summit in Moscow on October 28 and 29, 2026, to tackle the recruitment of African citizens into the Russia–Ukraine war.
In a press release signed by its Director of Media Centre, Zenzele Ndebele, the Bulawayo-based organisation stated some Africans travelled to Russia after being promised civilian employment in safety, driving and manufacturing facility work, solely to be recruited into the battle.
According to CITE, recruits and their households reported that some employees have been offered with contracts written in Russian, which they may not perceive upon arrival. Their passports and cellphones have been allegedly confiscated earlier than they have been despatched to the entrance line after roughly two weeks of coaching.
The organisation stated the scenario had left households looking for lacking family, grieving these confirmed lifeless and interesting to their governments for help.
“In March 2026, the Zimbabwean government said 15 Zimbabweans had died after being recruited into the war, and 66 were still in Russia. Across the continent, thousands of Africans have been recruited,” Ndebele stated.
“Families want to know if their relatives are alive, where they are, and when those who died will come home for burial. We hope our leaders will raise this with their Russian counterparts in Moscow,” he added.
CITE additionally welcomed efforts by Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to establish lacking or deceased citizens. The ministry collected DNA samples in Bulawayo on October 13 and 14 from family of Zimbabweans reported lacking or lifeless, with households travelling from completely different components of the nation to take part.
“Families now want to know when the results will be ready and when the remains of those who died will be brought home,” Ndebele stated.
The organisation famous that Zimbabwe was not the one African nation affected, citing comparable stories from Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, South Africa, Nigeria and different nations.
It stated greater than 30 Kenyan households met in Nairobi on October 6 and referred to as on President William Ruto to increase the matter on the summit. Uganda’s Parliament additionally mentioned the problem on October 15, whereas households in Cameroon, the place the federal government has confirmed the deaths of 16 citizens, established a gaggle in August often called “Bring Back Our Sons and Brothers” to search solutions about their family.
CITE additional cited a September 2026 report by Amnesty International, which discovered that the recruitment of international nationals into the war amounted to human trafficking in lots of circumstances as a result of of the cross-border networks concerned. The organisation argued that African nations can be higher positioned to tackle the issue by way of coordinated motion.
While acknowledging the longstanding relationships between African nations and Russia, CITE stated diplomatic ties mustn’t stop governments from elevating tough points with their companions.
The organisation referred to as on African leaders on the summit to work with Russian authorities to examine recruitment networks allegedly working by way of fraudulent job affords, set up the whereabouts of lacking, detained and deceased African citizens, and share out there data with their respective governments.
It additionally urged each side to facilitate the secure return of Africans who want to go away Russia, repatriate the stays of those that died, and set up a dependable system for governments to present verified data to affected households.
CITE stated the African Union and its member states might strengthen efforts to resolve the matter by adopting a standard place.
“We hope the summit will give families answers and lead to clear commitments,” the organisation stated, including that it might proceed reporting on the circumstances.
CITE is an accountability journalism organisation primarily based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It serves the Matabeleland area, nationwide audiences and Zimbabweans within the diaspora by way of its web site and social media platforms, together with Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X, WhatsApp and Instagram.
