The New York-based Human Rights Foundation expressed alarm on its official X (formerly Twitter) account over Kenya’s move to grant passports to sanctioned Sudanese war financiers and individuals linked to the Rapid Support Forces.
The statement comes amid continued silence from Kenyan authorities regarding the unfolding scandal.
The US-based rights organisation is the latest to enter the fray as controversy grows over Kenyan passports allegedly issued to members linked to Sudan’s paramilitary group.
On its X account, the Human Rights Foundation indicated its alarm at what it described as Kenya’s action to issue passports to sanctioned Sudanese war financiers and other individuals associated with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, which it described as genocidal.
The organisation further linked the passport issuance to what it termed as President William Ruto’s controversial alliance with the RSF, saying the relationship could implicate Kenyan authorities in aiding the paramilitary group evade international sanctions.
Kenya is cited as having issued passports to more than 25 Sudanese nationals, among them US-sanctioned Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, the younger brother of RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemdeti.
Both men have been sanctioned for allegedly procuring weapons and financing the paramilitary group, as well as for ethnically motivated killings and sexual violence in Sudan.
