President William Ruto has dismissed claims linking him to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), denying allegations that his administration was involved in arms smuggling or supporting either side in the ongoing conflict that has worsened the humanitarian situation in Sudan.
Speaking during an interview with Al Jazeera, Ruto described the accusations as false and politically motivated, insisting that Kenya’s role has remained consistent with promoting peace and dialogue across the region.
At the same time, Ruto refuted reports that the RSF had been hosted in Nairobi, following claims by Sudan’s government that Kenya was harbouring rebel elements. He maintained that Kenya remains a democratic country that welcomes all peace-loving groups.
“Kenya is a great democracy in the region. We are the only place where people can come and meet freely. The meeting that was there was one of civil society, church groups, women, and leaders having a conversation about their country. Such meetings have been held in other countries too,” Ruto explained while responding to questions on the humanitarian situation in the region.
He argued that Nairobi has often been unfairly targeted, noting that similar gatherings have taken place in neighbouring nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), without the same level of scrutiny.
“That is not true; that is absolutely false. I can tell you that as a democratic country, there are always allegations. The DRC accused us of having hosted some people meeting in Nairobi. There are people meeting in Nairobi whom I sometimes do not even know if they are meeting,” he stated.
The President further clarified that Kenya’s approach is rooted in encouraging dialogue among conflicting parties rather than taking sides, reaffirming that the country remains neutral in Sudan’s political crisis.
He also weighed in on the nature of the conflict, asserting that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF were equally responsible for the turmoil engulfing the country.
“On Sudan, I hold the position that both SAF and RSF are cut from the same cloth. They are a product of an overthrow of a people’s government, and therefore, you cannot say there is any difference between the two,” he said.
“My position is that these two generals have no solution to the Sudan crisis because both of them believe that they have to use military means to settle the situation. This is a governance problem,” Ruto noted.
Meanwhile, the allegations against Kenya emerged from a joint investigation by NTV and open-source intelligence platform Bellingcat, which revealed images of Kenyan-labelled ammunition crates allegedly found in a captured RSF depot near Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
While the contents of every crate could not be independently verified, nearby ammunition matching the labels indicating arms either bought or sent to Kenya for the Ministry of Defence was displayed by the Sudanese Armed Forces in the now viral videos. However, the government denied all the accusations.
On March 14 this year, the government of Sudan suspended all imports from Kenya following the latter's decision to host the RSF, a rebel group currently fighting the Sudanese army for control of the country.
Sudan announced the immediate restriction of all imports from Kenya, barring entry via ports, railways, and air transport.
