What was presented to Duncan Chege as a well-paying driving job in Moscow turned into a life-threatening ordeal.
Promised good pay and better opportunities, Duncan traveled to Russia alongside 10 other Kenyans, believing this was a chance to change his life.
Instead, immediately after landing, they were taken to a military camp and forced to sign contracts to fight in the Russia–Ukraine war.
None of them had any military experience.
After barely a month of rushed training, they were deployed straight to the battlefield.
The promised salaries never came, only excuses.
Within just one week at the frontlines, all 10 Kenyans who traveled with him were killed.
Their families were never officially informed, and their bodies were never returned home. Duncan was the only survivor.
Facing almost certain death, Duncan made a desperate decision.
On the battlefield, he pretended to have lost his mind firing aimlessly, rolling on the ground, and acting uncontrollable.
His commanders believed he had gone mad and ordered his evacuation back to Russia for medical evaluation.
From one hospital to another, Duncan stayed in character.
From his hospital bed, he made another bold move convincing doctors that his entire family in Kenya had died in an accident and that he needed to be released.
Eventually, he was discharged under escort.
That moment became his final chance. He requested to visit the Kenyan Embassy for support following his “family tragedy.”
Once there, he switched to Kiswahili, broke down, and pleaded for help. Embassy officials intervened and arranged his safe return to Kenya.
Duncan returned home alive but empty-handed, carrying deep trauma and a powerful warning: no amount of money is worth being deceived into a war you may never return from.
His survival, he says, was not by strength or training but by quick thinking and God’s grace.
To every Kenyan considering overseas jobs: verify, question, and think twice. Some opportunities are traps and some traps cost lives.
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