Ruto denies RSF links, says Sudan needs help

President William Ruto with RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo at State House, Nairobi. [PCS]

After a studious silence for many months, President William Ruto now says Kenya has not allowed Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leaders to operate in the country while committing genocide in their country.

The President also, for the first time, dismissed accusations by opposition leaders and Sudan’s Military leadership that he has been siding with the paramilitary group. Speaking to France 24 on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi on Wednesday, President Ruto termed the claims ‘propaganda, rumours and unverified claims that have no basis at all.’

Sudan’s military government, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, last year accused Ruto of favouring RSF, a move that created diplomatic tension between the two countries, characterised by the recall of diplomats and suspension of imports from Kenya, such as tea, “to preserve the country’s sovereignty and protect its national security”.

In his response that may further deepen already strained ties between the two countries, President Ruto said both the teams “are cut from the same cloth because they were a product of the same coup that overthrew a civilian administration.

“They (SAF and RSF) subsequently disagreed, and they have taken the country to the dogs, the kind of mayhem in Sudan, the humanitarian suffering, the loss of life, the refugee situation, the displacement in Sudan is on a scale that is unprecedented,” Ruto said.

While Ruto views the two factions engaged in a civil war as equal contributors of humanitarian suffering, the SAF views RSF as a terrorist and criminal organisation. The US earlier this year imposed sanctions against three RSF leaders in response to atrocities, including genocide and ethnic cleansing, committed during the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023.

The three include Brigadier General Elfateh Abdullah Idris Adam (known as Abu Lulu), cited for leading the capture of El Fasher and accused of perpetrating ethnically targeted killings, sexual violence, and torture, Major General Gedo Hamdan Ahmed Mohamed, targeted for his role in the brutal campaign in Darfur and Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed (known as Al-Zeir Salem), front-line commander involved in directing attacks in El Fasher.

President Ruto maintained that there was a need to ‘bring the two gentlemen to the table’, saying he had had the conversations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the US and UAE to develop a framework to guide the dialogue. “There can never be any reason, any justification for anybody to continue babysitting the situation in Sudan. Some tough talk must get into this and the position of Kenya is that we have the quartet bringing Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the US and UAE as the framework supposed to handle that situation,” said Ruto.

He added, “It is one of the conversations that I have had with leaders, even in this conference on the sidelines. I had a conversation in Egypt with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Egypt on how we can take this forward and we have agreed with him that we need to still bring these two gentlemen to the table and Kenya will do its part. We have agreed with President EL-Sisi that Egypt will do its part because we are leaders in this continent.”

Ruto said the war affected Sudan, Egypt and Kenya and that it was the region’s responsibility to continue doing whatever it takes.

“Rumours, propaganda aside, there are real people. There are real children, women, and families suffering in this equation. No amount of blame game or finger-pointing is going to salvage this situation. We need a candid approach so that we can stop the mayhem in Sudan and alleviate the suffering of the people,” Ruto added.

On February 19 last year, Sudan rejected Kenya’s leadership in peace negotiations aimed at ending the civil war, while accusing Nairobi of violating Sudan’s sovereignty by hosting RSF leadership, acting as a “conduit for Emirati military supplies,” and allegedly facilitating a “parallel government” for the paramilitary group.

Opposition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper Patriotic Front) and Rigathi Gachagua (Democracy for Citizens Party) have also accused Ruto of interfering with Sudan’s internal affairs.

While branding Ruto as “the real commander” of RSF, Gachagual claimed he was allegedly in shady business deals with the paramilitary group’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias Hemedti.