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The family of Joshua Nkrumah, a 35-year-old Ghanaian man captured while fighting for Russia, has broken their silence to express hope that high-level diplomacy will soon bring him home.
Joshua is currently held in a Ukrainian prison after being captured in September 2024, a victim of a growing trend where African nationals are lured into the conflict under false pretences.
His father, Albert, described the agonising “silent weight” of the past several months, during which the family has been unable to communicate with him.
Joshua’s journey to the frontlines began with a promise of a better life; he left his pregnant wife in Dubai in mid-2024 for what he believed was a lucrative private security job in Russia.
Instead, he was drafted into the military and deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine.
He was taken into custody by Ukrainian troops after his unit was decimated in a drone attack, becoming one of the faces of a crisis that has seen at least 272 Ghanaians—and over 1,700 other Africans—entangled in the Russian war effort.
The family’s hope was recently reignited following a diplomatic mission to Kyiv by Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
During the visit, the minister personally appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the release of Joshua and another Ghanaian prisoner of war.
The news that both men are in good health has provided a small measure of comfort to their relatives in Accra, who are now anxiously monitoring the progress of these sensitive negotiations.
For Joshua’s sister, Ophelia, and their father, the wait at the airport for his return cannot come soon enough.
While the geopolitical stakes of the war remain high, Albert Nkrumah reminded the public that behind the headlines are “families that cry quietly at night.”
They are now praying that the “diplomacy of compassion” prevails, allowing Joshua to return home and finally meet the child he left behind.
