Entebbe International Airport security on Tuesday intercepted nine Ugandan men suspected of being en route to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) in the ongoing war against Russia. 

The men, all with prior military experience, had been booked to travel to the battlefield under the cover of lucrative security guard jobs — an arrangement police believe was a front for mercenary recruitment.

Police sources told reporters the group was part of a much larger pool of more than 100 Ugandans allegedly recruited by a shadowy company called MAGNIT. 

“We have reason to believe they were destined for the Ukrainian battlefront, not civilian security work. This is labour exploitation and human trafficking, and no government agency — including the Ministry of Labour, Gender, and Social Development — had authorised the scheme,” the source said. 

A suspected Russian national accused of masterminding the operation was arrested two days before the interception, while several Ugandan accomplices remain under investigation.

According to police, MAGNIT’s recruiters targeted ex-soldiers — including UPDF veterans and former contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan — promising salaries of up to USD 6,250 per month. “The promise of high pay was the bait, but the reality was that they would be deployed into one of the deadliest conflicts in the world,” a senior police officer warned.

Investigators allege the recruiters acquired medical records from Kiswa Health Centre III in Bugolobi and forged crucial travel documents, including Interpol certificates of good conduct, yellow fever cards, and CVs. 

“The clandestine methods used fit the profile of international foreign fighter recruitment networks,” the police source explained.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, now in its fourth year since the February 2022 invasion, has been described as a “meat grinder” for the staggering human cost.

Western and Russian estimates suggest more than one million soldiers and civilians have been killed or wounded, with both sides suffering devastating battlefield losses.

Police have warned that Ugandans enticed into such schemes face the dual dangers of being thrust into high-intensity combat and facing prosecution for serving as mercenaries.

“This is not security work — it is sending people into a war they do not understand, with consequences they may never come back from,” the senior officer stressed.

ChimpReports contacted Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) spokesperson Vianney Luggya for comment on the incident.

He said he would cross-check and revert. He had not done so by the time this story was published.

By ChimpReports