Kenya has flatly rejected fresh accusations from Khartoum that it is fanning Sudan’s civil war, insisting its only interest is brokering peace.
The diplomatic spat was triggered by a Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) circular sent to foreign embassies after Rapid Support Forces (RSF) loyalists met in Nairobi to plot a “parallel government” – a gathering Sudan’s generals claim enjoyed State House blessing.
Nairobi says the charge is “baseless,” but the row has reignited questions about President William Ruto’s perceived warmth toward the RSF and the wider stakes of a conflict that has already uprooted more than ten million people across Sudan.
Why Khartoum Is Pointing Fingers
Sudan’s military rulers allege Kenya crossed a red line by allowing RSF delegates to unveil the “Sudan Founding Charter” at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre on 18 February 2025.
SAF officials recalled their ambassador and, in last week’s circular, warned foreign missions that Nairobi is “embracing the genocidal RSF militia.”
Kenyan diplomats counter that providing a venue for dialogue does not amount to recognising an exile government: “The convening of this dialogue forum in our capital… neither equates to endorsing any forum’s outcome nor constitutes the formation of an exile government as has been alleged,” the statement reads.
Critics point to photos of President Ruto hosting RSF commander Mohamed “Hemedti” Dagalo in Nairobi in January 2024 and to subsequent appearances by Hemedti’s brother on the presidential jet as signs of bias. Analysts argue the meetings have dented Kenya’s long-nurtured image as an impartial mediator.
Government advisers insist the outreach was about “keeping all channels open.”
Fighting that erupted in April 2023 has killed anywhere from 24,000 to more than 60,000 people, depending on whose tally you trust, while the UN says at least 14 million Sudanese have fled their homes and parts of the country face famine.
Nairobi’s full statement on Sudan’s latest accusations:
Rights groups blame most recent mass-casualty attacks on the RSF, yet both sides are accused of war crimes.
Nairobi chairs IGAD’s four-nation “quartet” on Sudan — a role SAF has repeatedly tried to derail.
Since mid-2023 Kenyan envoys have shuttled between Port Sudan, Addis Ababa and Nairobi, sometimes meeting SAF and RSF leaders “both simultaneously and at separate intervals,” according to the foreign ministry.
Diplomatic experts warn that fractured mediation efforts — IGAD in one corner, the AU, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. in others — risk turning the war into a proxy quagmire.
Hosting rebel delegations is starting to hurt Kenya’s neighbourhood standing, analysts say, citing similar friction with the DRC after Nairobi welcomed M23 leaders in 2023.
At home, civil-society groups complain that aligning too closely with armed factions could drag Kenya into conflicts it cannot afford.
Kenya says it will stay the course, urging SAF and RSF “to find a pathway to peaceful resolution and end the bloodletting,” and calling on the UN Security Council to protect civilians.
Whether Khartoum will soften its stance is unclear: SAF commanders have already walked away from IGAD once, and fresh battlefield gains tempt both sides to keep fighting. For Nairobi, the tightrope remains the same — host talks without looking like it has chosen a side.
