Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua sensationally claimed that President William Ruto is benefiting in a gold business through his partnership with the leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
There was no immediate comment from State House over the claims.
Gachagua alleged that Ruto only invited Hemedti to Kenya in 2023 for personal gain, not the nation’s interest.
He added he was tasked to invite the RSF boss and upon receiving him to State House in Nairobi, he was locked out of the room where the two Heads of State met.
“If it had anything to do with Kenya, I would have sat through the meeting, but after they were done, I am the one who took him to the airport, and I inquired, and they are doing business,” he told KTN on Monday.
“They are doing gold business with RSF chief which is taken from that area, brought to Nairobi then taken to Dubai.”
He faulted Ruto for callously heading the nation, arguing that his partnership with RSF, an internationally sanctioned group, is eroding Kenya’s reputation and crippling its diplomatic ties.
“It is putting Kenya in very bad light. President Ruto must accept that he will not be president forever. He cannot destroy this country and the way we are perceived by other nations. He must be a nationalist, rise above commercial and personal interests and put the country first,” Gachagua added.
“That group has been flagged by the international community, and sanctions have been slapped against them for genocide and killing of children.”
He said Ruto’s relationship with RSF has seen the Sudan government threaten to stop the export of Kenyan tea to Sudan.
So flawed is Ruto’s leadership strategy, Gachagua claimed, that his relationship with African Heads of State is crumbling over his involvement in the violence witnessed in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“DRC we have handled it very badly, and I am told many African presidents are unwilling to get involved in peace initiatives led by President Ruto because he is conflicted with commercial and personal interest that he has put above national interest,” Gachagua added.
Kenya has defended its recent decision to host RSF in Nairobi on February 18 despite backlash from the Sudan government.
The RSF held the event to launch a parallel government despite warnings such a move could further fragment the war-ravaged country.
RSF controls most of the west of Sudan and is engaged in an intense campaign to cement its control of the Darfur region by seizing the city of al-Fashir.
Burhan ruled out a Ramadan ceasefire unless the RSF stopped that campaign.
The war erupted in April 2023 over disputes about the integration of the two forces after they worked together to oust civilians with whom they had shared power after the uprising that ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
Their entry into Kenya has attracted ridicule against Ruto from several quarters, questioning why the Kenyan administration is not mindful of upholding diplomatic sanity.
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