NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused President William Ruto of secretly backing Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) through a gold-smuggling operation that he claims is financing the group’s war effort.
In a televised interview on Monday night, Gachagua sensationally branded Ruto “the real commander of RSF,” alleging that the president has been working with RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, to launder money from illicit gold deals through Kenya.
“The real commander of RSF is not Hemedti, it is William Ruto. The money from gold is being cleaned through Kenya to buy firearms,” Gachagua told KTN.
The RSF, locked in a brutal two-year war with Sudan’s army, has been accused of atrocities, including ethnic cleansing in Darfur.
Gachagua’s allegations, if true, would implicate the Kenyan president in fuelling one of the world’s deadliest conflicts.
According to Gachagua, the alleged dealings began in 2023 when Ruto coerced him into formally inviting Hemedti to Kenya.
“Ruto called me to his office and said, diplomatically, a president can only invite another president. But since Hemedti was a vice president, he wanted me to sign the letter on his behalf,” said Gachagua. “I signed it, Hemedti came, we discussed bilateral matters, then I took him to meet the president. Later, I realised they were doing business.”
He added that when Ruto pushed for a second visit from Hemedti, he refused, citing the RSF leader’s international sanctions and role in Sudan’s bloody war, which has killed an estimated 150,000 people and displaced over 11 million.
“I told him, as a father and a Christian, I cannot be a part of it,” Gachagua said. “He told me I must invite him, then asked me: ‘Do you know how much I will lose by you not inviting him?’”
Gachagua claimed that his signature was later forged on an invitation letter after he refused.
The planned visit was later cancelled after he confronted the president.
“He told me, ‘You will see me!’ and accused me of blackmail,” Gachagua said.
He further urged the international community to impose sanctions directly on President Ruto, saying that punishing Hemedti alone would not resolve the Sudan crisis.
“I am available to give evidence. If the world wants peace in Sudan, they must sanction William Ruto,” he said.
The remarks come weeks after Kenya hosted RSF-linked groups in Nairobi to sign a transitional charter—an event that prompted Sudan to suspend all imports from Kenya, citing national security concerns.
