kenya’s corridor of complicity

what ruto calls diplomacy is funding a militia and empowering its foreign sponsor.

President William Ruto is selling his Sudan policy as peace diplomacy. But Kenya’s embrace of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the militia accused of genocide in Darfur, has less to do with peace and more to do with gold, gulf money, and geopolitical ambition.

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, meets with President William Ruto at State House Nairobi in January 2024. The visit, part of Hemedti’s regional tour, drew criticism for lending diplomatic legitimacy to a paramilitary leader accused of atrocities in Sudan’s civil war.

New revelations suggest that Ruto’s ties to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, are greased not just by diplomacy but by a covert trade network linking Sudanese gold to Dubai, via Nairobi. At the heart of it is a three-way alliance: Sudan’s most brutal warlord, Kenya’s opportunistic pivot, and the United Arab Emirates, eager to bankroll its proxy.

In April, former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua publicly accused Ruto of facilitating gold laundering for RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. “He is helping them clean their gold money through our country,” Gachagua told KTN News, claiming Sudanese gold was being routed through Nairobi to Dubai. He alleged that in 2023, Ruto pressured him to extend an official invitation to Hemedti and that his signature was later forged to issue a second one.

Artisanal gold miners work in a shallow pit in Darfur. a region under the control of the RSF. Gold exports from these conflict zones have become a major source of funding for the RSF, fueling both its military campaign and its growing international network.

The allegation fits a well-documented pattern. The RSF controls key mining areas in Darfur and Kordofan and has long relied on gold exports to finance its war against Sudan’s army. In January 2024, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned multiple entities, including AZ Gold and several UAE-based firms for purchasing RSF-linked gold and channeling profits through networks tied to Hemedti’s family and business associates.

The UAE’s role is neither covert nor new. UN reports have repeatedly identified it as the RSF’s principal sponsor, arming the militia, funding its operations, and giving safe passage to its gold. Now, it’s deepening its hold on Nairobi.