Sudan Criticizes Kenya for Hosting RSF, Declares It an Aggressive Move
NAIROBI, Kenya – The air was electric and fraught with indignation when Sudanese officials learned that Kenya had opened its doors to the Rapid Support Forces, a move perceived as a significant breach of diplomatic nicety. Gathering at the iconic Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), the RSF’s presence in Nairobi has drawn sharp rebukes from Sudan, questioning the integrity of Kenyan foreign policy.
The corridors of diplomacy now echo with unease as Sudan, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, chastises Kenya for what it describes as direct provocations that exacerbate their internal turmoil. Sudanese authorities were unequivocal, branding the RSF as malicious entities — or ‘terrorists,’ as they put it — accusing Kenya of nurturing unrest.
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Hosting leaders of the terrorist RSF militia in such a manner only underscores complicity. It invites dishonor to age-old principles of good neighborliness,” Sudan conveyed sternly in their statement. “This unwelcome act by our counterparts breaches not only trust but international understandings forged at tables far from the light of such shameful deeds.”
Yet, like all stories with more than one side, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing’oei, offered a contrasting narrative. Does support for peace not sometimes require engagement with all parties, even those embroiled in controversy? Sing’oei articulated Kenya’s stand in favor of negotiation and diplomacy over exclusion and estrangement. As he pointed out, it’s a longstanding belief permeating Kenya’s foreign policy.
“We are here as arbiters, not allies of discord. Our mission remains a peaceful resolution, not a march toward chaos,” he pleaded, a definite echo against accusations.
The web of allegations thickens when Sudan reproaches Kenya’s actions as running counter to international accords, including the solemn oaths taken under the United Nations Charter and the African Union Constitutive Act. Are international conventions now subject to interpretations as irregular as this situation suggests? For Sudan, Kenya’s decision is not simply offensive but a contravention of norms inherent to peaceful coexistence.
The Sudanese ministry dismissed the RSF’s Nairobi-led proclamation to erect a so-called “Government of Peace and Unity.” A mere stratagem, Sudan whistled, one that would lose its voice amidst the resolute and opposing pulse of its armed forces and the shared determination of its citizenry.
“A performance at KICC cannot alter the reality on Sudanese grounds,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reassured. “The noble fight against the RSF and their mercenaries shall press on until sovereignty is reclaimed.”
With the KICC as the backdrop, the RSF’s assembly devised methods to give an unsettling legitimacy to their quest amid longstanding accusations of committing crimes against humanity in Sudan’s protracted internal conflicts. The journey to this moment owes much to the ousting of Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and the subsequent unyielding duel of wills between the Sudan Armed Forces and the RSF.
This diplomatic storm resonates beyond borders. Will the ripples of this tension reshape regional dynamics, or fade as another episode in the tumultuous annals of Sudanese-Kenyan relations?
Report By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring
