Editor's Review

Sudan also warned Ruto of repercussions after the RSF group were accused of planning to unveil a parallel government in Nairobi.

Idaho Senator Jim Risch has criticized Kenya for hosting Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group in Nairobi.

In a statement dated Friday, February 21, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee expressed concern that a US ally was hosting a group that had contributed to the deaths of people of Sudan.

Risch added that Kenya was in a way legitimizing the atrocities committed by the force led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

The Senator added that despite Kenya's stand on the meeting, the move would not resolve the conflict.

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File image of RSF leaders at a meeting in KICC.

"Last year, I led efforts in Congress to recognize RSF-led atrocities in Sudan, which have contributed to over 150k deaths, as genocide. In January, it became US policy," he wrote.

"Now, Kenya, a US ally, is helping the RSF legitimize their genocidal rule in Sudan under the guise of peacemaking - this is an unthinkable attempt to obscure the truth and will not end the massacre."

The move by Kenya to host the RSF group that was sanctioned by the US has seen various human rights groups and Sudan itself criticize Kenya.

Notably, in a letter, Sudan warned President William Ruto for agreeing to host the group accused of planning to unveil a parallel government in Nairobi.

" The trail of actions taken by President Ruto represents an alarming trend of external interference that threatens to divide Sudan. Such behaviour is explicitly prohibited. By the AU Charter and condemned by the AU’s Peace and Security Council, one must wonder:

"Why is Kenya intervening in Sudan's internal matters while simultaneously expecting no repercussions?" Sudan Sovereign Council Vice Chair Malik Agar noted in a letter.

Meanwhile, Kenya has denied any wrongdoing in hosting the sanctioned leaders in Nairobi.

"Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese civilian groups’ tabling of a roadmap and proposed leadership in Nairobi is compatible with Kenya’s role in peace negotiation, which enjoins her to provide non-partisan platforms to conflict parties to seek resolutions," Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi noted in a statement.