US-sanctioned RSF leader Hemedti’s covert Nairobi trip raises red flags for Kenya
At the same time, internally, disquiet is simmering among Kenya’s top security and Foreign Affairs officials following the secret visit after some were reportedly kept in the dark
Kenya is in the eye of a storm following a secret visit by the US sanctioned leader of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo alias Hemedti early this week, The Informer Media Group has established.
At the same time, internally, disquiet is simmering among Kenya’s top security and Foreign Affairs officials following the secret visit after some were reportedly kept in the dark.
Sources indicate the visit, aimed at coordinating a so-called “broad-based government” comprising Sudanese dissidents, was organised by a small circle of high-profile state figures, deliberately excluding some officials in the security and Foreign and Diaspora Affairs dockets.
Hemedti reportedly arrived in Kenya on February 20, 2026, stayed at a high-end Nairobi hotel located in Upper Hill, and coordinated with his Nairobi contacts before flying to Uganda, where he met President Yoweri Museveni.
The clandestine nature of the trip has triggered concern among officials over transparency, Kenya’s diplomatic stance, and potential exposure to international sanctions.
Hemedti’s secret visit is said to ostensibly aimed at launching what was dubbed as a “broad based government” comprising Sudanese dissidents drawn from several militia groups and civil society organisations.
The highly secret visit is said to have been organised by a select high profile state honchos, while others including some in the security and Foreign and Diaspora Affairs dockets were reportedly kept in the dark.
“This is a highly secretive matter, there is the “need to know” policy so if you don’t have to know, you need not be informed, that is why they were not involved,” said a source privy with the visit.
According to our impeccable sources, Hemedti is said to have first arrived in Kenya last Friday and stayed at a posh hotel located in Upper Hill, Nairobi before flying out to Kampala Uganda where he was hosted by President Yoweri Museveni.
He then returned to Kenya on Sunday to coordinate the formation of the so called “broad based” government as well as linking up with his contacts in Nairobi.
The visit against reports that his youngest brother, Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Musa, is now using a Kenyan passport and Emirati ID, according to an updated US sanctions memo.
Musa, a Dubai-based businessman is suspected to have links in RSF’s arms supply and is said to be on US watch list.
In October 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) sanctioned Dagalo for “leading efforts to supply weapons to continue the war in Sudan”.
In the memo issued by the US Department of the Treasury recently, Dagalo’s information included the addition of a Kenyan passport and an Emirati identification number.
The previous description of the RSF senior commander only included an additional passport from Sudan.
Kenya’s government is known to be close to the United Arab Emirates, the principal sponsor of the RSF.
In April 2025, President William Ruto faced calls for international sanctioning due to his ties to the RSF militia.
Ruto hosted RSF leadership last February to announce a parallel government in Sudan, and has also been accused of involvement in Hemedti’s gold trade, which funds the RSF’s activities.
According to Ofac, Algoney Dagalo has managed RSF-affiliated front companies that help facilitate the import of vehicles and military equipment into Sudan.
US citizens, businesses and financial institutions are prohibited from providing funds, goods or services to sanctioned individuals.
Last October, Sudanese-American organisations decried the commander’s visit to Washington, in spite of the sanctions placed on him.
In the wake of Hemedti’s visit to Uganda last Friday, the Khartoum government denounced Kampala, calling the meeting an “affront to humanity”.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, aligned with the nation’s armed forces, said Uganda had flouted international law by welcoming RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, whose fighters are accused of committing widespread atrocities throughout the continuing civil war.
Museveni had confirmed that he met Hemedti, at his presidential home in the city of Entebbe.
Museveni, appointed by the African Union to mediate between Sudan’s military and the RSF, said he emphasised “a peaceful political solution”.
In a statement on Sunday, Sudan’s foreign ministry said: “The Sudanese government condemns in the strongest terms the Ugandan government’s reception… of rebel leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the terrorist militia.”
The statement denounced the meeting between Degalo and Uganda’s president and said it was “an unprecedented move that is an affront to humanity as a whole, before it is an affront to the Sudanese people”.
The high-level engagement focused on ending the ongoing conflict in Sudan and restoring regional stability. The meeting comes at a time when Sudan continues to face a devastating war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudan Armed Forces led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF.
Museveni is quoted by PPU as having said that: “When I last came to Sudan, I met President Bashir and advised against the politics of identity instead of the politics of interest,” President Museveni said.
