Equatorial Guinea man returns home after forced service in Russian army

Daniel Angel Masie Nchama, a young man from Equatorial Guinea, has returned home after a harrowing experience of being tricked into military service for Russia in Ukraine. Nchama believed he was going to Russia for bodyguard training, having been contacted by a Cameroonian living there in December 2025. Instead, after just 45 days in Russia and two months of training in Murmansk, he was forcibly transferred to a Russian military base in Donetsk, a combat zone in eastern Ukraine.

His return was witnessed by an AFP reporter, who saw him being greeted by his parents at Malabo airport. "It’s great to be back in the country," Nchama told reporters. The incident highlights a disturbing trend of African men being recruited by Moscow to fight in the conflict. The All Eyes on Wagner collective reported in mid-February that 1,417 Africans were recruited between January 2023 and September 2025, with over 300 having died in Ukraine.

In response to such cases, the government of Equatorial Guinea has vowed to dismantle the trafficking networks responsible for luring young African men to Russia with false promises.

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It’s great to be back in the country