IMPEACHED Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused former boss President William Ruto of engaging in shady gold deals with sanctioned Sudan rebel leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo alias Hemedti.
Gachagua in an interview on KTN said President Ruto has prioritised his commercial interests ahead of national interests in his dealings with Sudan.
“What is happening is that the President has put his personal and commercial interests ahead of the country’s interests. That’s the problem. They are doing business with the RSF chief, involving gold that is obtained from that area, brought to Nairobi, and then taken to Dubai. Yes, I can substantiate that,” Gachagua said on Monday.
When asked to substantiate, Gachagua recalled the January 9 visit by the then deputy leader to Sudan leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to Kenya and in which he was assigned protocol duties.
“Diplomatically, the President cannot invite Hemedti here because he was the vice president. So he asked me to invite him on his behalf. He called me and told me ‘sign this letter, invite Hemedti because I want to have some discussion’.
“I welcomed Hemedti and delivered him to the President. There was nothing about Kenya, they were discussing business, about gold and such-like things,” Gachagua said.
He added that he was asked to leave the meeting “because it had nothing to do with Kenya”.
“If it had anything to do with Kenya, I would have sat through the meeting, but after they were done, I was the one who took him to the airport, and I inquired, and [learnt] they are doing business,” he said.
The former DP’s remarks come days after the Sudan Foreign ministry accused President Ruto of having “personal and commercial interests” with the RSF leadership.
“It is unfortunate that the Kenyan President has placed his personal and commercial interests with the militia’s regional sponsors and the militia’s leadership above the historical relations between the two brotherly countries, the leadership requirements, Kenya’s genuine interests, and the imperatives of regional peace and security, thereby disregarding international and regional agreements,” the Thursday statement read in part.
The ministry was reacting to a move by Kenya to host the RSF, allied political parties and groups to launch a parallel government in Nairobi..
RSF GOLD BUSINESS
The RSF is in control of vast territories rich in gold in Sudan, and various reports indicate a lot of the gold is smuggled out of the country, some of it finding its way to the UAE.
A letter dated January 15, 2024 from the Panel of Experts on Sudan addressed to the President of the Security Council reported “complex financial networks established by RSF before and during the war” that involved gold trading.
These networks, the letter said, enabled the RSF to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, and lobby and buy the support of other political and armed groups.
“RSF invested large proceeds from its pre-war gold business in several industries, creating a network of as many as 50 companies. RSF senior members and their associates owned and controlled several of those companies in the region.
“Al Khaleej Bank became instrumental in financing RSF, receiving a $50 million transfer from the Central Bank of Sudan in March 2023. With that money, the RSF developed new supply lines of military equipment and fuel through eastern Chad, Libya and South Sudan,” the letter said.
The report accompanied by the letter found that RSF controlled most of the gold trade in Sudan, in which it invested large proceeds from the gold business in several industries.
“A governance vacuum and lack of control over the gold industry allowed gold smuggling networks to flourish. For example, a Sudanese gold trader associated with RSF received 50kg of gold in Dubai in May 2023.
“The consignment, the first one since the outbreak of the war, came from Khartoum and transited through Port Sudan. Since the beginning of the war, most of the gold that was previously exported to the United Arab Emirates was now smuggled to Egypt,” the report added.
US SANCTIONS AND GOLD LINK
While issuing sanctions against Hemedti in January 2025, the US Department of the Treasury said the RSF’s ability to acquire military equipment and generate finances was aided by UAE-based companies, which were sanctioned alongside the RSF commander.
“Capital Tap Holding L.L.C. (Capital Tap Holding), based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has provided money and weapons to the RSF,” the press release said.
It added that UAE-based Al Zumoroud and Al Yaqoot Gold & Jewellers L.L.C. (AZ Gold), a gold purchasing company is managed by Abu Dharr, a Sudanese national who also manages Capital Tap Holding, and owns or manages several other related sanctioned companies.
“AZ Gold has purchased gold from Sudan, presumably for the benefit of the RSF, and subsequently transported it to Dubai. Algoney [Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, the RSF’s procurement director and brother of Hemedti] maintained access to AZ Gold’s bank account in the UAE, which held millions of dollars,” the US Treasury said.
RUTO TIES WITH HEMEDTI
President Ruto has had interests in Sudan since he was deputy president, with a controversial private trip to Khartoum in January 2020. He was at the time accompanied by four close aides, among them a current sitting MP and a seasoned civil servant who hails from Mombasa.
Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka at the time told The Standard he briefly met Ruto at Khartoum airport.
“I was on my official mission as the Special Envoy in South Sudan and we just bumped into one other with the DP at Khartoum airport,” said Kalonzo.
Even with the outbreak of the war in Sudan and removal of Hemedti as Vice President, Ruto in January 2024 rolled the red carpet for the RSF leader.
The move triggered a diplomatic spat with Sudan, which recalled its Ambassador to Kenya Kamal Gubara. Then Sudan acting Foreign minister Ali al-Sadiq said Amb. Gubara was summoned “for consultations in protest of the official reception organised by the Kenyan government for the leader of the rebel militia”.
He received an almost head of state reception at JKIA, complete with flower girls and troupe of dancers, while he had flag protocols set up at State House Nairobi for the photo op.
He was received at the airport by then Interior CS Kithure Kindiki (now Deputy President), NIS Chief Noordin Haji and Nyaribari Chache MP Zaheer Jhanda.
Gachagua accused President Ruto of damaging Kenya’s reputation on the global stage.
“He is making all the wrong decisions. We have a policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries. We cannot allow rebels ]who have been] sanctioned internationally for genocide to meet in government facilities in Nairobi,” he said.
