Kenya’s RSF ties undermine Sudan peace efforts

The Kenyan government’s disgraceful decision to host the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied militias—infamous for their brutal reign of terror in Sudan—makes it complicit in mass atrocities against the Sudanese people.

RSF gathered in Nairobi on February 18, 2025, to form a parallel government. This violates Kenya’s commitment to justice, accountability, and the promotion of peace and security in Sudan and the Horn region.

This meeting also happened four days after the African Union Peace and Security Council, convened by Heads of State and Government, condemned all forms of external interference fueling the Sudanese conflict and urged the warring parties to commit to an inclusive political dialogue to address the current crisis.

Kenya’s unilateral move undermines Pan-Africanism by contradicting the African Union’s peace efforts in Sudan, led by the AU High-Level Panel and the AU Peace and Security Council Expanded Mechanism, which aim to engage all key parties involved in the conflict.

A recent report by the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan found reasonable grounds to believe that the RSF and its allied militias committed war crimes, including rape, sexual slavery, pillage, forced displacement of civilians, and the recruitment of children under 15 for combat.

Horrific assaults carried by the RSF and its allies against non-Arab communities – in particular the Masalit in and around El Geneina, West Darfur – included killings, torture, and other forms of sexual violence and destruction of property.

Sanctioned

On January 7, 2025, the U.S. government sanctioned RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, for his role in destabilizing Sudan and obstructing its democratic transition. Earlier, on September 6, 2023, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned his brother, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, for leading the RSF, whose members have committed atrocities, including massacres, ethnic killings, and sexual violence.

Kenya’s decision to host the RSF in Nairobi to form a parallel government is a grave violation of its international obligations, including the UN Charter, the AU Constitutive Act, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Moreover, this move undermines Sudan’s sovereignty, constitutes an act of hostility against its people, and disregards the immense suffering of countless Sudanese civilians and ongoing peace efforts.

At the time the RSF convened in Nairobi, the militia was actively committing genocide, massacring civilians along ethnic lines, attacking internally displaced persons camps, and killing more than 433 civilians, including women and children, in a three-day assault in Southern White Nile State near the town of al-Gitaina.

Admitting guilt

On February 19, 2024, the Kenyan government, through the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, admitted to providing the RSF with a platform to convene in Nairobi and attempted to justify this decision. This move will undoubtedly strain the longstanding relationship between Sudan and Kenya.

The Kenyan government’s actions undermine international efforts—including those by civil society organizations—to promote peace, accountability, and justice. It also endangers Sudanese refugees in Kenya, as their tormentors, the RSF, are on the verge of forming an illegal government.

We appeal to the AU Peace and Security Council to urgently issue a strong statement:

Condemning any attempt by the warring parties to unilaterally declare a government in exile, which will undercut efforts to secure an inclusive peace agreement that will address Sudan’s multiple conflicts.
Urging all Sudanese actors and AU member States to abide by AU statements, including those affirming Sudan’s territorial integrity and the need for a political dialogue-based resolution of the conflict.
Urging stakeholders to refrain from unilateral acts that undermine peace and stability in Sudan.

We urgently call on the Kenyan government to immediately implement the following recommendations:

1. Immediately declare a persona non grata status to all members of the RSF currently convening in Kenya.

2. Immediately recall the statement issued by the Prime Cabinet Secretary confirming its support for the RSF and issue an unequivocal apology to the people of Sudan.

3. Uphold and respect the international obligations under the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

4. Immediately refrain from engaging in the peace talks or mediation process regarding the conflict in Sudan because it fails to be an impartial arbiter.

We continue to express our full solidarity and support with the people of Sudan and will engage all possible mechanisms under national and international law in this long-term endeavor.

Signed