Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Alfred Mutua's faced stiff opposition in his efforts to resolve strained relations between Kenya and Sudan after the latter declined an olive branch, deteriorating the diplomatic crisis.
On Monday, June 19, Mutua convened a meeting to resolve the Sudan crisis and invited officials from the warring nation. However, Sudan declined the invite citing a difference in political ideologies.
A press release issued by Sudan Foreign Affairs Ministry stated that Kenya was not welcome to chair meetings to end the conflict in the war-torn country. It accused President William Ruto of making a biased assessment of the conflict, which trivialised the real issue.
Sudan, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, argued that Ruto characterised the conflict as a fight between two generals. Burhan was opposed to his rival and paramilitary leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, being perceived as his equal.
“The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya invited the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Quartet to meet this afternoon, Monday, June 19, 2023.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to state that Sudan does not welcome and object to the convening of this meeting and that Sudan is not concerned with its outputs,” the statement read in part.
It reiterated that it was still waiting for a response from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) presidency regarding its objection to Ruto and Kenya chairing the mechanism. It still advocated for South Sudan President, Salva Kiir, to lead the talks.
“Sudan affirms its categorical rejection of the Kenyan government's reduction in its invitation to the Quartet meeting, characterising the conflict in Sudan as a fight between two generals.
“The Kenyan government's handling of the mediation file in this way contradicts the basic principles of IGAD, which is to respect the sovereignty of states,” the statement read.
Mutua, however, in a rejoinder, noted that he went ahead and held the meeting with other members of the quartet, which included; Djibouti, South Sudan and Ethiopia, in turn, locking out Sudan.
“We discussed how to support the process of our Heads of State to hold a face-to-face meeting with the two leaders involved in the ongoing violence in Addis Ababa or agreed on location,” Mutua stated.
“I wish to assure the people of the Republic of Sudan that they are not forgotten and that we are working day and night to ensure that peace, humanitarian aid and stability are achieved,” he added, while cautiously avoiding to criticise the warring nation.
Earlier, Kenya rubbished Sudan's protests, insisting that only IGAD was mandated to recall Ruto from chairing the peace mission.
The statement sparked an uproar in Sudan with key government allies calling for a boycott of Kenyan exports. The diplomatic rhetorics and thinly-veiled threats were made to exert pressure on Ruto to step down from his role or gain leverage in the peace talks.
“Support Sudan by boycotting Kenyan products as the country is a centre of conspiracy and aggression against Sudan,” Ambassador, Sanaa Hamad, a Sudan veteran diplomat, led the onslaught.
She further accused Ruto of being corrupt and supporting the militia in Sudan.
