President William Ruto’s administration is once again raising eyebrows over its conduct in the region as it hosts Sudan rebel group Rapid Support Forces to launch the formation of a parallel administration known as ‘Government of Peace and Unity.’
Al Arabiya Sudan on Monday reported that RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is sanctioned by the US over the Sudan war, arrived in Nairobi on Sunday for unveiling of “Government of Peace and Unity.”
There was also an ivitation for the launch at the heart of Nairobi city, Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
“The political, civil and social forces and armed movements and Rapid Support Forces have the honor to invite to attend the signing ceremony of the political charter for the Government of peace and Unity.
“This Charter aims to restore the legitimate government that was overthrown by the remnants of and militias of the Islamic Movement and reinstate the democratic path through a national consensus that includes all the political, civil and social forces, laying the foundation of a new phase of stability and suatainable peace,” the invite said.
It added that the Charter had been prepared with the agreement of various active parties, “reaffirming a collective commitment to joint action for a more prosperous and just future”.
The signing was pushed to Tuesday.
The Kenyan government says the entity is open to all stakeholders, but the military leadership in Port Sudan has termed it as an attempt to form a parallel government in the areas RSF controls.
This will further worsen the already fractured diplomatic relations between the Kenyan and the Sudan governments.
The launch comes just about two weeks after the military-led Sudan government dispatched a delegation led by the Foreign minister to dissuade President William Ruto from hosting the event and supporting the parallel government.
After the meeting at State House Nairobi, Sudan Foreign Minister Ali Youssef Ahmed said President Ruto has changed his stance on the Sudan conflict, and that he will not recognise the government the RSF intend to announce in the areas under its control.
Minister Youssef said Nairobi had “reconsidered its position towards Sudan, based on the new data in the war.”
The launch of the Charter will see Port Sudan protesting, and reverse on the attempts to thaw diplomatic relations.
During the Sudan minister’s visit, he held talks with his kenyan counterpart Musalia Mudavadi and agreed to continue dialogue and cooperation through the revival of the Joint Commission for Cooperation and resume the work of the Joint Ministerial Committee.
They also pledged to work jointly to support peace initiatives in the region and address the pressing challenges posed by terrorism, extremism and human trafficking.
During the joint press briefing on Friday, Youssef admitted there were hick ups in the diplomatic relations between the two states, referring to Sudan’s recall of its envoy in Nairobi after President Ruto hosted RSF leader Mohamed Dagalo Hemedti in Nairobi in January last year.
Sudan Armed Forces had also rejected President Ruto as the IGAD Mediation Quartet head, accusing him of being pro-RSF and harbouring its elemenst in Nairobi.
REPLAYING M23 DEBACLE
The launch of the outfit is likely another miscalculation by President Ruto as it is likely to replay the hosting of M23 rebels in Nairobi.
In December 2023, just before the presidential elections, DRC recalled its envoys from Kenya and Tanzania (accredited to EAC) for consultations after a new Congolese political-military alliance was launched in Nairobi.
Congolese politicians and rebel groups, including the M23 rebels, and former Congo election commission chief Corneille Nangaa launched the Congo River Alliance in Nairobi.
Nangaa said at least nine armed groups had joined him in his “Congo River Alliance” project for “national unity and stability”, even as he called for “the union of all political, social and military forces” to “rebuild the state” and “restore peace” in the DRC.
He had been sanctioned by the US over graft and for obstructing the 2018 election.
DRC Foreign Ministry summoned the Kenya ambassador at the time to explain how the rebels were allowed to announce the alliance in the country. “John Nyakeru was summoned to “provide explanations to the Deputy Prime Minister Peter Kazadi on the launch in Nairobi of a political-military coalition,” DRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alain Tshibanda wrote on X.
The announced alliance was seen as an additional concern in the eastern DRC, further complicating the three-decade conflict fuelled by ethnicity, minerals and other natural resources as well as political power.
For instance, head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Congo Bintou Keita said she was “extremely concerned by the creation of a new political-military platform”, while Uhuru said he watched with shock and dismay the launch of yet another political and military alliance to challenge the legitimate political status quo in the DRC.
Uhuru rejected the developments, “in particular their military character, and the accompanying politically charged and provocative rhetoric”.
However, President William Ruto downplayed the incident, saying he had rejected a request by Kinshasa to arrest the opposition and rebel leaders, who addressed the press at a hotel in Nairobi.
“DRC wanted to know if we could arrest the people who released the statement, but we said we cannot. We only arrest criminals not people issuing statements. We are a democracy and Nairobi is a media hub with many bureaus from CNN, BBC…,” the President said in a joint media interview soon after.
“Statements are issued almost every day against me but I never arrested anyone. That is undemocratic…that is not how Kenya is…we are different,” he added.
Asked if there was a diplomatic row, Ruto said as far as he is concerned, there was none, and it is withing Kinshasa’s right to recall its Ambassador in Nairobi. Ruto’s envoy to Kinshasa Shem Amadi is yet to present his letter of credence more than a year since his appointment and posting.
