Shadrack Wafula Matofari, a 27-year-old Kenyan man who was declared missing in action in Russia-Ukraine war . [Courtesy]
“We are going on a mission. We will be out of network for some time. I’ll be unreachable for about a month after the training. Once we’re back, I’ll call you.”
Those were among the last words Barasa’s brother sent from Russia. He had just completed weeks of military training, learning how to fire assault rifles, throw grenades and operate rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
Shadrack Wafula Matofari, 27, left home in July 2025 believing he had secured a lucrative overseas job and was now heading to the front lines of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The promised call never came for more than a year now.
“That was the end of the communication between him and me. I’ve never heard from him again,” Barasa told The Standard.
His family has lived in agonising uncertainty. They have been trapped between hope and grief, clinging to unanswered emails while desperately searching for answers that never arrive.
Matofari’s story is not unique. Across Kenya, families are searching for sons, brothers and husbands who quietly left the country after being promised jobs in Russia, only to disappear into a war that was never theirs.