Sabina Chege terms Gachagua ‘unpatriotic’ for publicly linking Ruto to Sudan’s RSF

Nominated MP Sabina Chege has criticised former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over his recent remarks linking President William Ruto to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a Sunday interview with KTN, Gachagua alleged Ruto has been doing shady business deals with the paramilitary group’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias Hemedti.

Calling Ruto “the real commander of RSF", Gachagua claimed his former boss has been conducting gold trade with Hemedti so that the RSF leader can launder money to buy firearms for the paramilitary force amid RSF’s ongoing war with Sudan’s army.

Chege on Thursday faulted the former DP over the comments, calling them irresponsible and likely to jeopardise national security.

“Certain government positions come with responsibility; it is not about making someone else look bad,” the Jubilee Party-nominated legislator told Citizen TV’s Daybreak program.

“When you took the oath of office, there are certain things you will die without talking about because of their sensitivity and where it would lead this country.”

Chege labelled Gachagua as unpatriotic over his appeal to the international community to sanction Ruto for purportedly fuelling the Sudan crisis.

“As a patriotic citizen who purports to love this country and thinks you’re its saviour, you want your president sanctioned and comes up with statements that can put this country in a very dangerous position with its neighbours?” she posed.

“If you want to be as truthful as you say you are, there is where to take that information… we need to be vetting the individuals going into these offices.”

On Sunday, Gachagua claimed Ruto’s alleged dealings go back to 2023 when Ruto allegedly coerced him into inviting Hemedti on an official visit to Kenya before he realised the two leaders were “doing business.”

The President has yet responded to the damning allegations.

Kenya came under fire after hosting RSF and allied groups in Nairobi in February to sign a transitional constitution, taking them closer to forming a parallel government.

It led to Sudan indefinitely suspending all imports from Kenya to “protect its national interests and security concerns”, which Kenya downplayed as a “gross overreaction.”

Kenya also holds that hosting the RSF leaders was in line with its role to foster regional peace and unity.