Mudavadi denies Kenya’s involvement with Sudan’s RSF, calls allegations politically driven

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has denied claims that Kenya is supporting Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), calling the accusations baseless and politically motivated.

Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Mudavadi emphasised that Kenya’s role has been purely diplomatic.

“Kenya is a centre for mediation,” he stated. “We only encourage peaceful conversations for peaceful resolutions. That is the extent to which Kenya has been engaged with the various parties in Sudan.”

His remarks come in the wake of controversial allegations by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who linked President William Ruto to the RSF’s operations. Gachagua claimed Ruto was involved in illicit gold trade with RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, to fund the militia's arms purchases.

“The real commander of RSF is not Hemedti; it is William Ruto,” Gachagua alleged during a televised interview with KTN earlier this month. “The money from gold is being cleaned through Kenya to buy firearms.”

Ruto has not yet issued a response to the allegations.

Mudavadi dismissed Gachagua’s claims, suggesting they stem from personal grievances following his impeachment.

“Leave him out of it. The former DP is having his grievances; he was impeached by the Parliament, so I do not think we should drag him here,” he said.

RSF representatives Nairobi meeting

Criticism has mounted after Kenya hosted RSF representatives in Nairobi in March, where they signed a transitional constitution—a move some interpreted as an attempt to establish a parallel government. But Mudavadi pushed back against that notion.

“As the Foreign Affairs CS, I would like to confirm that the session RSF had in Nairobi was for them to dialogue among themselves,” he explained. “This charter has been misconstrued to imagine that a parallel government was declared in Kenya. That is not true at all.”

Speaking at the London-Sudan Conference on Tuesday, where global leaders pledged hundreds of millions in aid to Sudan, Mudavadi reiterated Kenya’s neutrality.

“Kenya stands for one Sudan and would like to see one Sudan,” he said. “All parties in Sudan should amicably chart their path towards peace.”

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy echoed the urgency of supporting Sudan, stating, “It’s morally wrong when we see so many civilians beheaded, infants subjected to sexual violence... We simply cannot look away.”

The war, which erupted in April 2023, has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, marking one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Other Topics To Read

• Headlines
• National
• President William Ruto
• Sudanese Armed Forces
• Rapid Support Forces
• RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
• RSF
• Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi
• SAF
• Hemedti
• Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
• Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
• Mudavadi denies Kenya’s involvement with Sudan’s RSF
• calls allegations politically driven