(left) at State House during Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Peace Process Meeting, May 29, 2023.
President William Ruto has been warned against interfering in Sudan’s affairs unless he is prepared to face repercussions.
In a letter by the Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Malik Agar, titled "An Open Letter to Young Brother Rais William Ruto of Kenya: Those Who Do Not Listen to Their Elders Shall Have a Broken Leg", Ruto has been urged to focus on domestic issues such as unemployment, poverty, and demands for transparency, and to allow Sudan to resolve its problems independently.
"The trail of actions taken by President Ruto represents an alarming trend of external interference that threatens to divide Sudan," the letter read in part.
"Such behaviour is explicitly prohibited by the AU Charter and condemned by the AU's Peace and Security Council, and one must wonder: why is Kenya intervening in Sudan's internal matters while simultaneously expecting no repercussions?" Agar continued.
Kenya has been painted in a bad light by Sudan after the country hosted the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a rebel group currently battling the Sudanese army for control of the country.
RSF on Tuesday, February 18, held an event in Nairobi, as a headstart towards the formation of an alliance consisting of political players and armed groups to strengthen RSF’s dominance in Sudan.
Defending itself, Ruto's government insisted it had no ulterior motives and that allowing the RSF to hold talks in Nairobi was part of its broader role in regional peace negotiations.
However, the deputy chairman argued that Kenya cannot mediate Sudanese affairs when it has never experienced the scale of violence currently unfolding in Sudan. He maintained that the country’s main focus should be ensuring that the fighting in Sudan ends.
"The Sudanese people are more than capable of addressing their challenges, and a parallel government advocated by the participants of the meeting and hosted by President Ruto is not a priority. The priority is to stop the fighting," the letter continued.
Sudan has asked Kenya to adhere to the principles of sovereign equality and to ensure that African problems are solved internally rather than being exacerbated from within.
The warning to Ruto comes just a day after Sudan's foreign minister accused Kenya of orchestrating division among countries within the continent by blatantly interfering with the internal affairs of some African states.
