Former UN agency chief accuses Kenya of backing Sudan’s RSF

Former United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi has accused Kenyan President William Ruto of supporting Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), adding to criticism of Nairobi’s engagement with the group.

Speaking on Citizen Television’s JK Live programme on Wednesday, Kituyi said Ruto’s dealings with the RSF and other controversial foreign figures had undermined Kenya’s international standing and damaged the country’s economic interests.

“The country’s stature has diminished,” Kituyi said, citing the suspension of Kenyan tea exports to Sudan following diplomatic tensions between Nairobi and Khartoum.

Kituyi described the RSF as a racist force responsible for atrocities against civilians and criticised the Kenyan government for hosting its leaders and facilitating their international travel.

His remarks come months after Kenya’s Standard newspaper reported that RSF-linked figure Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Musa and Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo had allegedly been issued Kenyan passports. According to the report, Algoney held a Kenyan passport while also possessing Sudanese travel documents.

In October 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Algoney, accusing him of coordinating weapons procurement for the RSF and helping sustain the conflict in Sudan.

The reports prompted the U.S.-based Human Rights Foundation to call for Kenya to be held accountable if it had issued passports to individuals linked to the RSF.

Ruto’s administration faced criticism last year after hosting RSF officials in Nairobi. Sudan’s government accused Kenya of interfering in its internal affairs, recalled its ambassador from Nairobi and later suspended imports of Kenyan tea.

Kenya denied supporting the RSF, saying meetings involving the group were aimed at promoting dialogue and peace efforts rather than endorsing the paramilitary force.

The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and triggered what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.