By Rayhan Uddin
Friday April 11, 2025
Rigathi Gachagua says Kenyan leader is the 'real commander' of RSF, allowing paramilitary group to launder gold money through Nairobi
Kenya's then deputy president William Ruto (right) and his then running mate Rigathi Gachagua in Nairobi, Kenya, on 4 June 2022 (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
The former deputy leader of Kenya has called for William Ruto, the country’s president, to be sanctioned internationally for allowing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries in Sudan to launder money from gold through Nairobi.
Rigathi Gachagua was vice president of Kenya from September 2022 until October last year, when he was impeached after falling out with Ruto.
During an interview with KTN News this week, he alleged widespread Kenyan complicity in crimes committed during Sudan’s war.
Gachagua said that when RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - widely known as Hemeti - was de facto deputy leader of Sudan, Ruto sought to invite him to Kenya.
As Hemeti was not a head of state, but a deputy, Ruto could not directly send out the invitation. Gachagua had to extend the invitation, which he did.
“Later on, I realised they are doing business,” said Gachagua.
“After some time, it became clear to me that the international community had placed international sanctions against Hemeti because of genocide, killing women, displacing people, and other crimes against humanity.”
So when Ruto called on his deputy to once again invite Hemeti, Gachagua refused.
“I told him, 'Mr President, this is a butcher of women and children. He is using our country through your friendship to bring gold from Sudan, clean it in Nairobi, take it to the Middle East, use the funds to buy arms to go and kill people in Sudan',” he said.
As a father and as a Christian, Gachagua stated, he could not comply.
An independent inquiry last year found that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that the RSF and its allied militias “have committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit”, a Black African group in the country.
The US also determined that the RSF was perpetrating genocide in Sudan, and sanctioned Hemeti for his role in “systematic atrocities”.
Gachagua said his signature was later forged in an attempt to bring Hemeti to Kenya.
When the vice president threatened that he would publicly “disown” the invitation if Hemeti landed in the country, the visit was halted.
After that moment, relations rapidly soured between Ruto and Gachagua.
“The real commander of RSF is William Ruto because for a movement to succeed, it needs money,” said Gachagua. “The money from gold is being cleaned through Kenya to buy arms to go and kill women and children.”
'Sanction Ruto to stop Sudan war'In February, Kenya hosted a conference that saw the RSF launch a parallel government in the areas it controls.
The Sudanese foreign ministry described Kenya’s move as a direct intervention in the affairs of another country and a violation of diplomatic norms and the African Union charter.
Sudan subsequently suspended all imports from Kenya in protest, describing Nairobi’s actions as "tantamount to an act of hostility".
“I want to tell the international community, it is pointless to lay the sanctions against Hemeti. The person they need to levy sanctions against is William Ruto,” said Gachagua.
“Sudan will be sorted out because if there are sanctions against William Ruto, he'll stop entertaining Hemeti.
“Gold will stop being processed in Nairobi. There will be no money to buy arms to go and kill children.”
In January, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on AZ Gold, a UAE-based gold purchasing company.
“AZ Gold has purchased gold from Sudan, presumably for the benefit of the RSF, and subsequently transported it to Dubai,” the sanctions notice stated.
Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, one of Hemeti's brothers, “maintained access to AZ Gold’s bank account in the UAE, which held millions of dollars”, according to the US Treasury.
Sudan’s army-aligned government has accused Ruto of dealing commercially with the RSF.
“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 Sudanese foreign ministry said, likely referencing the UAE.
On Thursday, Sudan accused the UAE of complicity in genocide at a hearing before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.