/ 7 December 2022

Russian mercenary outfit confirms recruiting Zambian student from prison

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Co-opted into Russia’s conflict: Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group, confirmed that Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda was recruited from prison to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine

Nyirenda died on the front lines in August, but the circumstances of his death — and how he came to be in Ukraine — were not conveyed to his family, which only learnt of his death in November. 

“I remember this guy well,” said Prigozhin in a statement. “I spoke with him in the Tver region [outside Moscow] and asked him, ‘Why do you want this war?’ … And his response was just what I expected. He said, ‘You Russians have been helping us Africans become independent for many years. When we were having trouble, you extended a hand, and you’re still doing so now. PMC Wagner has saved thousands of Africans, and if I go with you to war, that’s probably the very least I can do to repay our debts.’”

Nyirenda’s family were not available for comment. Zambia’s ministry of foreign affairs told The Continent that it had not yet received official confirmation from the Russian government about what happened to Nyirenda, or details on the eventual repatriation of his remains. 

Nyirenda was a gifted student on a government scholarship to a university in Moscow. He was arrested in 2020 while delivering packages for a motorcycle delivery company, when one of the packages was found to contain drugs. 

He was found guilty of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison. It is not clear whether he received adequate legal representation, and his family believe him to be innocent. 

This is the first official confirmation that Wagner Group is recruiting foreign prisoners to join Russia’s war effort, apparently in exchange for reduced sentences. The group has previously been implicated in human rights abuses in Mali and the Central African Republic.

This article first appeared in The Continent, the pan-African weekly newspaper produced in partnership with the Mail & Guardian. It’s designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Download your free copy here.