Kisii family buries tree after son killed in Russia-Ukraine war

A family in Kisii County has held a symbolic burial for their son after losing hope of ever receiving his body from Russia.

Clinton Nyapara, a young Kenyan who reportedly died in Donetsk, Ukraine, after joining the Russian army last year, is among several Kenyans believed to have perished in the ongoing war.

On Tuesday, his heartbroken family made the painful decision to bury a tree in place of his body. 

Preparations began in Bomariba Village, Bonchari Constituency in Kisii County. A grave was dug, but there was no body to bury. 

It was meant to be the final resting place of Nyapara, who left home in search of a better future, only to die thousands of kilometres away in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Nyapara is among a growing number of young Kenyans reportedly killed in the Russia–Ukraine war after recruitment by the Russian army.

Three months after news of his death reached home, his family is still waiting — not for justice — but for his body. 

After lengthy consultations with village elders, the family decided to plant a tree in what would have been their son’s grave — a tree that will stand as a symbol of a life lost far from home.

The family says their desperate efforts to seek help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have only been met with empty promises.

“Tumejaribu juu chini but imeshindikana… tukaamua wacha sasa huu mti uwekwe hapa…” said Nyapara’s brother.

It is the only closure they may get. After weeks of incessant promises to repatriate Nyapara’s body back home, the family has now decided to close the matter after conducting a special ritual, hoping that someday Nyapara’s dreams will live on through his six-year-old son.

In Transmara East, however, a different kind of pain is unfolding. At least 15 young men have been reported missing, believed to have been lured into joining Russia’s military.

Their families now live in fear that they too may soon be forced to hold burials without bodies.

In Nagwenya Village, Kilgoris in Narok County, families are grappling with the mysterious recruitment of their sons by the Russian military.

The remote area, accessed through hours of navigating rough and treacherous roads, tells a story of loss, confusion and deep sorrow.

The controversial recruitment of Kenyan youth by Russia’s military has taken sons from their families, young men who left home in search of a better future.

Three families now sit together, trying to comfort one another in their shared pain.

For some, it is the first time they have heard of a country called Russia, and it remains a mystery how their sons ended up there.

Three men — 30-year-old Erick Korinko, Kevin Ledama Mopesi and Alfred Bett, both aged 35 — left the village between June last year and November with dreams of transforming the lives of their families.

Instead, their departure marked the beginning of uncertainty and heartbreak.

“Kijana yangu alitoka kijijini, ameniacha na mke na mtoto mdogo alafu naambiwa alienda Russia... juzi tumepata habari kijana ameuawa. Tafadhali rais tutafutie mtoto wetu, tunalia sana... tunataka hata kumuona kama wazazi, tumefika mwisho,” said Ascar Korinko, Erick’s mother.

Erick Korinko’s shoes are among the few belongings he left behind — a silent reminder of a son who walked out of his home with hope, never to return.

“Tumehuzunika vibaya sana... kama wazazi hatulali. Hatujui tunaanzaje kumtafuta na hatujui njia,” said Eliud Korinko, Erick’s father.

They say he left home believing he was travelling abroad to take up a security job, unaware that he had been recruited into a foreign war.

“Sisi pia tuliambiwa kwamba hayuko bado, tunamtafuta tu. Tunataka rais atusaidie,” said Lemiso Mopesi, Ledama’s brother.

In another home, Alfred Bett's family lives in agonising uncertainty.

Their son, who had previously served as a soldier, travelled to Russia but has been missing for more than four months, with no word about his whereabouts.

Parents who watched their sons leave with dreams of a better future now spend sleepless nights wondering whether they will ever see them again — and whether, if they do, it will be their sons alive or bodies brought back home for burial.