Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1300 EAT on Tuesday 27 2026
At least 11 Ugandans who enlisted in the Russian army have been confirmed dead, while another 16 are missing and presumed dead, the Ugandan Embassy in Moscow has said.
In a letter dated October 17, 2026, Uganda’s Head of Mission in Moscow, Ambassador Moses K. Kizige, said the Russian government had provided information on Ugandans believed to be serving in what Moscow refers to as its “special military operations” zone.
The embassy said Russian authorities had confirmed the deaths of 11 Ugandans, while 16 others remained missing, with their whereabouts unknown. The missing individuals were reportedly presumed dead, although their bodies had not been recovered.
“They are also not known to be prisoners of war,” Kizige wrote in a communication addressed to the Permanent Secretary of Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The information was contained in a response from the Russian government dated October 8, 2026, following an inquiry by the Ugandan embassy on August 19.
Kizige said the embassy launched the inquiry following several telephone conversations in August with Innocent Kato, whom he described as the principal petitioner representing families of Ugandans believed to be serving in the Russian military.
Kato provided passport details for some of the individuals, which the embassy verified with Uganda’s Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control before forwarding the inquiry to Russian authorities.
The letter did not specify when the 11 confirmed deaths and 16 disappearances occurred or the circumstances under which the Ugandans were killed or went missing.
The embassy also reported that five Ugandans were still serving in the Russian army and would be discharged upon the expiry of their contracts. They are Rogers Mwebaze, Evarist Barigye, Honest Mugabi, Eric Kisakye and Ronald Samula Tenywa.
Another Ugandan, Robert Tumwebaze, was reportedly dismissed from the Russian armed forces. According to Kizige, Tumwebaze was taken to the embassy by staff after being discharged from a military hospital in Nizhny Novgorod but later reportedly fled from embassy staff at a railway station.
The ambassador urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urgently notify the families of the deceased to enable them to begin claiming any benefits due to them.
He also expressed concern that the families of three other Ugandans whose deaths had previously been confirmed by Russia had not contacted the embassy. The three are Baker Mwesigye, Alex Mutesigensi and Edson Kamwesigye.
Kizige said Russia’s Ministry of Defence had confirmed their deaths and that the information had already been forwarded to Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The embassy urged families seeking information about relatives believed to be serving in the Russian military to submit their passport details to facilitate tracing and verification.
-Observer
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