NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 10 — President William Ruto defended Kenya’s role in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, insisting the country remains a neutral facilitator despite accusations of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In an Al Jazeera interview aired Sunday, Ruto was asked about Kenya’s involvement in Sudan, where a military standoff between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF has left tens of thousands dead and displaced millions.
Critics, including officials of the military-led Sudanese government, have accused Kenya of siding with the RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ‘Hemetti’.
“Kenya is a great democratic country. We are the only place in East and Central Africa where people can come and meet freely, from every part of the world,” Ruto told Al Jazeera, asserting that Kenya’s sole role is to facilitate dialogue.
Ruto dismissed allegations that Kenya had facilitated the movement of arms, calling them false.
“That is absolutely false. I can tell you for a fact that Kenya, being a democratic country, is often accused—DRC accuses us—that there were people meeting in Nairobi,” he said, referring to meetings of Democratic Republic of Congo opposition figures that have drawn protests from Kinshasa in the past.
“There are people meeting in Nairobi. Sometimes I don’t even know they are meeting here, because we are a free and democratic country,” he explained.
Return to civilian rule
The President highlighted Nairobi’s leadership in regional peace efforts, including the IGAD-backed Jeddah talks aimed at returning Sudan to civilian rule.
Ruto reiterated Kenya’s position on the need for sustained efforts to restore civilian governance, saying the two armed formations vying for power lack legitimacy to govern.
“Both RSF and SAF are cut from the same cloth. They are a product of an overthrow of a people’s government. My position is that these two generals have no solution for Sudan,” he said.
He recalled meetings he hosted with both parties: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the SAF in November 2024 and Hemetti later that month, securing the RSF’s commitment to participate in peace negotiations.
Humanitarian ceasefire
The Sudan conflict has drawn international condemnation, including US sanctions against Hemetti in January for alleged genocide targeting non-Arabs. Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the RSF of systematically killing men, boys, and infants, and targeting women and girls for rape.
Seven companies and an individual linked to supplying Hemetti’s forces with equipment and financing were also sanctioned.
“These are horrific crimes, and the international community must act,” Blinken said, noting that the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway had previously denounced RSF attacks on civilians in West, Central, and South Darfur.
Hemetti’s RSF on Sunday agreed to a US-led proposal for a humanitarian ceasefire amid mounting pressure over atrocities and famine in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
The UN Human Rights Council is set to meet later this week to discuss the humanitarian crisis in El-Fasher and across Sudan, where a projected 30 million people—nearly 65 percent of the population—are in need of assistance.
An estimated 15 million of those in need are children, according to UN agencies.
The fighting has displaced nearly 12 million people, with 4 million fleeing Sudan, representing a 27 percent increase in displacement in 2024 alone.
