Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accused President William Ruto of being the “real commander” of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Gachagua alleged that Ruto is secretly backing RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, through illicit gold trade deals that finance the ongoing war in Sudan.
Gachagua claimed that Ruto has been laundering money from gold sales through Kenya to enable Hemedti to purchase weapons for the RSF, which has been locked in a deadly two-year conflict with the Sudanese army. The war has reportedly killed over 150,000 people and displaced more than 11 million others.
“The real commander of RSF is not Hemedti, it is William Ruto,” Gachagua said. “The money from gold is being cleaned through Kenya to buy firearms.”
The former deputy president said the dealings trace back to 2023, when Ruto allegedly pressured him into inviting Hemedti on an official visit to Kenya. According to Gachagua, Ruto claimed that only a vice president could extend such an invitation to another deputy, thus asking him to facilitate the visit on his behalf.
Gachagua said he later discovered the meetings were part of a covert business arrangement between Ruto and the RSF leader. He claims he was asked to extend a second invitation but refused, citing the numerous international sanctions imposed on Hemedti.
“I told him that as a father and a Christian, I cannot be a part of it,” Gachagua stated. He alleges that after his refusal, a forged signature was used to invite Hemedti, a move he opposed until the visit was eventually cancelled.
Gachagua called on the international community to sanction President Ruto, claiming that targeting Hemedti alone would not resolve the Sudan crisis.
These explosive claims follow Kenya’s controversial hosting of RSF-aligned factions in Nairobi last month for talks on forming a transitional government—an act that triggered Sudan’s suspension of all imports from Kenya, citing national security concerns. Kenya has since termed Sudan’s response as a “gross overreaction.”
