Sifuna faults Ruto’s Bayern-Ajax announcement, cites plight of Kenyans in Ukraine

Edwin Sifuna and Rigathi Gachagua during the launch of the Linda Mwananchi Movement headquarters in Lavington, Nairobi. (Photo: Edwin Sifuna/Facebook)

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has expressed disappointment with President William Ruto’s announcement of a friendly match between Bayern Munich and Ajax, saying he had expected the Head of State to announce that he had secured the release of more than 1,000 Kenyans allegedly recruited to fight alongside Russian forces in the war in Ukraine.

Ruto, who was in Moscow attending the Third Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, announced in a recorded address broadcast on Wednesday evening, October 28, that German giants Bayern Munich and Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam would play a friendly match in Nairobi on January 5, 2027, to mark the opening of the new Raila Odinga International Stadium.

Speaking during the launch of the Linda Mwananchi Movement offices in Nairobi on Friday, Sifuna said he had hoped the President’s visit would yield updates on the fate of Kenyans caught up in the conflict.

“Some of us, we were waiting with bated breath. We heard that the president was going to make a very important announcement,” Sifuna said.

“And because he was in Russia, some of us were hoping that he was going to announce that he had secured the release of the more than 1,000 Kenyans who were lured into the Russian armies to fight in the Ukraine war. But instead, he told us that two European teams are coming to Nairobi to play a football match.”

Sifuna said he had expected the President to use the visit to address the plight of Kenyans allegedly recruited to fight in the foreign conflict rather than focus on the planned sporting event.

The senator pledged to personally intervene to secure the release of Kenyans detained in Ukraine if elected President, saying the country must take responsibility for protecting its citizens abroad.

“And if you ever find yourself in the problems in which our brothers in the Ukrainian detention camps are in, my assurance as a party leader of Linda Mwananchi, if you agree for me to be president, I will come for you personally,” he said.

He cited examples of countries whose leaders personally intervene when their citizens face danger abroad, including by arranging evacuations by air and sea.

The senator said Kenyans caught up in the conflict deserved a similar commitment from their government, amid continued concerns over the recruitment of nationals into the Russian military and the fate of those who remain unaccounted for.