‘Leave Gachagua out of this’: Mudavadi questioned on Kenya-RSF ties

Prime Cabinet Secretary (CS) and CS for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi has refuted accusations that Kenya has been supporting Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the paramilitary group’s ongoing war with the Sudanese Armed Forces in the past two years.

This is in the wake of criticism against President William Ruto’s government after Kenya hosted RSF and allied groups in Nairobi last month to sign a transitional constitution, taking them closer to forming a parallel government.

In a Tuesday interview with the BBC, Mudavadi maintained that Kenya “is a centre for mediation,” and the RSF meeting was in the context of finding a solution to the war, which to date has killed 150,000 people and forced more than 11 million others from their homes.

“We only encourage peaceful conversations for peaceful resolutions… that is the extent to which Kenya has been engaged with the various parties in Sudan,” Mudavadi, who is in the United Kingdom for the London-Sudan Conference, told the British broadcaster.

He said the meeting was for RSF “to dialogue among themselves,” adding, “The notion that there is a bias is not factual.”

“At no time was Kenya a party to the formation of a government in exile or parallel government for any country,” said the minister.

The meeting made Sudan indefinitely suspend all imports from Kenya to “protect its national interests and security concerns”, which Kenya downplayed as a “gross overreaction.”

Debate about Kenya’s purported support for the RSF was recently stoked by fresh allegations by Ruto’s former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, after he linked the President to the paramilitary group’s operations.

In a televised interview on April 7, Gachagua claimed that his former boss has been in gold trade with RSF’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias Hemedti, so that he can launder money to buy firearms for the paramilitary force.

Asked about the damning allegations in the Tuesday interview, Mudavadi told the BBC: “You may want to leave the former deputy president out of this.”

“He is having his grievances; he was impeached by the Kenyan parliament, and I don’t think we should drag him here,” he said.

Ruto has yet to respond to Gachagua’s claims.