Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua on Monday, July 24 explained why Kenya was yet to issue a formal response over a Sudan General caught on video daring President William Ruto to deploy the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to fight its soldiers.
Speaking to an international media outlet, TRT Afrika, the CS indicated that Kenya was yet to get the full context of what was said by Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta in the viral video.
Mutua indicated that the government cannot rely on the information available on social media to respond to an issue with diplomatic ramifications.
The CS has affirmed that the government is going to follow the right steps to establish the context of the video before a formal response is made.
"We cannot verify the authenticity of the video or whether the senior military officer actually made those remarks. We also need a formal translation to understand what he said," the former Machakos governor stated.
In the viral video, the Sudan general accused Ruto of meddling in their ongoing conflict. Al-Atta expressed that they would triumph over the Kenyan forces should they be deployed to war.
The general alleged that Kenya was financing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo alias Hemeti.
“The state (Kenya) that supports you (RSF) and the mercenaries like you with money must also bring its army... leave the East African forces and come with your army to intervene and we are waiting for you,” he stated.
Al-Atta remarks came weeks after Ruto refuted claims of supporting Hemedi's faction following accusations of hosting the general in one of the hospitals in Nairobi.
During an interview with France 24 on June 24, Ruto termed the accusations a false narrative. However, he maintained his support for a truce between the warring factions acknowledging that the citizens were the most affected.
According to the United Nations, over 604 people have lost their lives in the war which began on April 15.
Ruto's interview in France came against the backdrop of his mediation role at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) being rejected by the Sudanese army - which is fitting with Hemedi's RSF.
