President William Ruto, on Saturday, June 24, denied allegations that Kenya was hosting General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo alias Hemeti, the leader of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces.
While declining to be dragged into the Sudan war, Ruto added that Kenya was not a party to the wrangle as alleged by allies of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the military commander and Sudan's de facto leader.
During an interview with France 24, Ruto revealed that Kenya was accused of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allowing its ailing leader, General Dagalo, to seek medical attention in Nairobi.
"General Burhan says they don't want William Ruto because they believe he's backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. So, basically, you were told don't mess with Sudan. What is your reaction?" France 24 journalist, Marc Perelman, posed?
"Well, everybody has their own opinion. We do not want interference. The main accusation against Kenya is that we have Hemeti in one of our hospitals in Nairobi.
"This is a false narrative," Ruto asserted while maintaining that he was only concerned about the millions of Sudanese affected by the war quickly shaping into a genocide.
He asserted that together with his colleagues at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), he would move to find a solution to mitigating the humanitarian crisis in the Sub-Saharan African country.
IGAD appointed Ruto as the lead mediator in the peace talks tasking him with arranging a face-to-face meeting between the two warring generals for the first time. However, the junta faction led by General Burhan opposed it, arguing that he was allied with the paramilitary wing.
Kenya, nevertheless, reiterated that only IGAD had the capacity and authority to recall the head of state. It also urged Sudan to agree to mediate and resolve the war, which entered its third month.
IGAD also underlined that resolutions publicised in an official communique would stay until formally revised by the eight-member bloc's heads of state and government.
The war between the RSF and the Sudam military began on April 15, with both wings seeking control of the oil-rich country.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a disaggregated data collection platform and crisis mapping tool, over 1,800 fatalities were recorded as of June 2023.
On the other hand, 1.4 million Sudanese have been displaced.
Efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia to restore peace and sanity in Sudan failed after a ceasefire they issued ended, forcing IGAD to intervene.
