Kenyan President Ruto denies supplying arms to Sudan's RSF

Kenyan President William Ruto has denied backing Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been locked in a brutal war with the Sudanese army since 2023.

The RSF and its allies are accused by the UN of committing atrocities, particularly in Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which they captured recently.

Tensions have been high between Nairobi and Khartoum since some elements from the RSF held a series of meetings in Nairobi at the beginning of this year. Thereafter, the paramilitaries announced a parallel government, a move that angered the Sudanese army.

However, in a rare interview with Al Jazeera on 9 November, President Ruto said the reported meetings of RSF in Nairobi were as a result of Kenya's "democratic" space.

“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. And the meeting that was there in Kenya was a meeting of the civil society, meeting of church groups, meeting of Muslim leaders, meeting of women. And they were having a conversation about their country in Sudan,” he said.

“There were people in there sometimes I don't even know they are meeting in Nairobi because we are a free and democratic country. Such meetings have been held in Tripoli. Such meetings have been held in Addis.”

“But there are also allegations that you're involved in getting arms, when the Sudanese army says you're involved with the UAE and you're shipping arms,” the journalist posed

To which President Ruto answered: “That is absolutely false”.

Following the tensions, Sudan had banned all imports, mainly food items, tea and pharmaceuticals from Kenya. Khartoum had also recalled its ambassador.

The war in Sudan, which stemmed from a power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese army over a transition to civilian rule, broke out in April 2023.

It has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 civilians and displaced more than 15 million others, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, according to the UN.

Efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire have failed.

“I hold the position that both RSF and SAF are cut from the same cloth. They are a product of an overthrow of a people's government and therefore you cannot say anything different between SAF and RSF,” the Kenyan president argued.

“And by the way, my position is that these two generals have no solution for Sudan because both of them believe in solving a problem using military means which is not a security problem. This is a governance problem.”

The war in Sudan has escalated recently with the capture of Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, by the RSF. The UN is urging global action to stop atrocities by the paramilitaries, including mass killings.

The International Criminal Court says RSF's atrocities could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.