Gachagua's claim about Ruto's interests in Sudan could jeopardise Kenya's reputation
Gachagua claimed that Ruto has been conducting gold trade with Hemedti so that the RSF leader can get money to buy firearms for the paramilitary force.
The frosty relations between Nairobi and Khartoum may worsen further following fresh revelations by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that President William Ruto is involved in shady deals with the leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo alias Hemedti.
Should Gachagua's bombshell be deemed credible, it could potentially put Ruto in a challenging position with regional entities like the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which has been tirelessly working to curb violence in the war-torn nation that descended into chaos after the ousting of its former president, Hassan Omar Al-Bashir.
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Gachagua claimed that Ruto has been conducting gold trade with Hemedti so that the RSF leader can get money to buy firearms for the paramilitary force.
“The real commander of the RSF is not Hemedti; it is William Ruto. The money from gold is being cleaned through Kenya to buy firearms,” Gachagua told KTN in a Monday night interview.
The former DP, who has been critical of Ruto's administration since his October impeachment, claims the purported dealings go back to 2023, when Ruto allegedly coerced him into inviting Hemedti on an official visit to Kenya.
“Ruto called me to his office and said, diplomatically, a president can only invite another president for a visit. But he had a vice president he wanted to invite to Kenya, so he wanted me to do it on his behalf,” Gachagua told the broadcaster.
Refused to invite Hemedti
Gachagua alleged that Ruto later directed him to invite Hemedti again, which he purportedly refused on grounds of the numerous sanctions against the RSF leader by other countries over the war, which to date has killed 150,000 people and forced more than a million others from their homes.
“I am available to give evidence. I ask the international community to sanction William Ruto, and the Sudan crisis will be solved. Sanctioning Hemedti is pointless,” the former DP said.
The damning allegations come just over a month after Kenya hosted RSF and allied groups in Nairobi to sign a transitional constitution, taking them closer to forming a parallel government.
Already, Ruto’s administration has responded to Gachagua’s claims.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said on Tuesday that RSF did not form a parallel government in Nairobi.
While speaking during the Quarterly Diplomatic Briefing, Mudavadi asserted that the charter signed by the RSF at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) was unrelated to forming any parallel government on Kenyan soil.
“On matters of Sudan, there was a conference that took place here in Nairobi. To be clear, no government of Sudan was declared or formed in Nairobi. I want that to be understood very clearly,” Mudavadi stated.
In what is a contrasting revelation by the government, Mudavadi termed the discourse surrounding the move by the RSF as “misinformation,” noting that the terminology of self-determination as enshrined in the charter should not be misconstrued to mean Kenya is facilitating anything of the opposite nature.
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RSF charter
The signing of the charter was confirmed by signatories Al-Hadi Idris and Ibrahim Al-Mirghani. The signing ceremony was attended by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, a powerful rebel leader who controls vast swathes of territory and troops in South Kordofan state and who has long demanded that Sudan embrace secularism.
According to the text of the charter, the signatories agreed that Sudan should be a "secular, democratic, non-centralised state" with a unified national army, though it also upheld the right of armed groups to continue existing.
Lawyer Evans Ogada, who specialises in constitutional and administrative law, told The Eastleigh Voice that Gachgagua’s assertions risk denting Kenya’s image in regional and global standing.
“Certainly, it's going to embarrass Kenya, particularly coming from a man who served as deputy president. It undermines Kenya's stature as a neutral arbiter,” said Ogada.
Kenyan imports banned
Already, Sudan has suspended all imports from Kenya in protest after RSF, who are fighting the army in a two-year civil war, were hosted in Nairobi.
"The import of all products coming from Kenya through all ports, crossings, airports, and ports will be suspended as of this day until further notice," a decree issued by Sudan's Ministry of Trade stated.
It ordered "all relevant authorities" to enforce the ban immediately.
Ruto has faced widespread criticism at home for his perceived close ties with the RSF.
Sudan has also recalled its ambassador to Kenya in protest against Nairobi's involvement in a "conspiracy to establish a government" for the RSF.
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