Ruto Takes Charge Over Sudan Feud Weeks After Rebuking Generals

President William Ruto meets with General Malik Agar Nganyoufa, the special envoy of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and his team at State House on Monday, May 29, 2023. They are joined by National Security Advisor Monica Juma (second right) and Deputy Chief of Staff Josphat Nanok (back).
President William Ruto meets with General Malik Agar Nganyoufa, the special envoy of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and his team at State House on Monday, May 29, 2023. They are joined by National Security Advisor Monica Juma (second right) and Deputy Chief of Staff Josphat Nanok (back).
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President William Ruto played host to Yousif Izzat, the special envoy of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at State House on Saturday, June 3.

Earlier in the week, he had hosted General Malik Agar Nganyoufa, the special envoy of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on Monday, May 29.

RSF and SAF are the two rival factions in the Sudan conflict that began on April 15, 2023, and has caused several casualties as well as a humanitarian crisis.

Circumstantially, these visits came barely two weeks after Ruto’s powerful speech on May 17 at the Pan-African Parliament Summit in South Africa where he called on the generals to resolve their difference.

President William Ruto meets Yousif Izzat, the special envoy of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at State House on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
President William Ruto meets Yousif Izzat, the special envoy of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at State House on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
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“We need to tell those generals to stop the nonsense. Military capacity is for fighting criminals and terrorists. It is not for fighting children and women and destroying our own infrastructure,” Ruto stated to an applauding audience.

Contextually, these visits came in the week the Sudan peace talks held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, crumbled with the USA and Saudi Arabia citing lack of commitment on the part of the rival parties to solve the dispute.

With the meetings, both of which were held at State House, Ruto quietly showed that he was working to ensure that peace was restored in the embattled country.

Analysts Take

Political and governance experts, however, expressed mixed feelings on whether the President, who has made clear his intentions as a volunteer, was on a successful path to restore peace in the wartorn Sudan.

Policy and governance expert Vincent Kimosop stated that the visits affirmed Ruto’s goal of seeking African solutions to African problems.

He noted that Ruto has been keen to see Africans step to the plate and solve African problems.

“Ruto has been very clear on the need for greater ownership of African problems.

“The president wants to provide leadership in that space. When there is little international goodwill, Africans have to rise up and that is what the president is doing,” posited Kimosop.

On the other hand, foreign affairs analyst John Gachie raised concerns about whether Ruto possessed enough political leverage to compel the warring generals to come to Nairobi for peace talks.

“Does he have the wherewithal politically, economically, or diplomatically to bring the two parties together? Will the two parties agree to have him as a mediator?” Gachie posed.

He, however, praised Ruto for trying to be a solution provider for the trouble in Sudan.

“Kenya has had a history of mediating peace like in Somalia (2006), South Sudan (2011), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (2023), and Angola (1975).

“It is in Kenya’s long-term interest that Sudan is peaceful,” he noted.

President William Ruto shakes hands with General Malik Agar Nganyoufa, the special envoy of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) at State House on Monday, May 29, 2023.
President William Ruto shakes hands with General Malik Agar Nganyoufa, the special envoy of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) at State House on Monday, May 29, 2023.
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