US Launches Investigation into Kenya’s Sudan Arms Links

Congressional probe threatens Kenya’s strategic partnership over alleged RSF connections and protest crackdowns

NAIROBI, Kenya – The United States has launched a comprehensive investigation into Kenya’s alleged involvement with Sudan’s armed conflict and human rights violations, threatening to strip Nairobi of its Major Non-NATO Ally status barely a year after it was granted.

Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is pushing amendments to the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act that would mandate a review of Kenya’s MNNA designation.

The investigation centers on President William Ruto’s controversial decision to host Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces leadership in Nairobi and his administration’s violent crackdown on protesters.

The timing is particularly damaging for Kenya.

The probe will examine actions taken after June 2024, when the country was formally granted MNNA status.

Just one day later, security forces began a brutal suppression of anti-government demonstrations that resulted in at least 128 deaths and nearly 100 abductions, many of whom remain missing.

US lawmakers are questioning whether Kenya used American intelligence and security support to abduct, torture and rendition civilians.

The investigation gained urgency after the October 2024 abduction of seven Turkish nationals in Nairobi by Turkish intelligence officers, despite the men having refugee status in Kenya.

Four were flown to Turkey to face charges after criticizing President Erdogan’s government.

Kenya’s hosting of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Daglo has particularly alarmed Washington. Daglo, who appears on the US Treasury’s sanctions list, announced plans to form a parallel Sudanese government at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre in February.

Sudan has twice recalled its ambassador to Kenya, accusing Ruto of bias toward the paramilitary group.

The investigation extends beyond Sudan to examine Kenya’s deepening ties with China, Russia and Iran.

Senator Risch specifically criticized President Ruto’s April 2025 declaration at Peking University that Kenya and China are “co-architects of a new world order,” calling it an act of allegiance rather than mere alignment.

Kenya owes China $5.4 billion, making it the country’s largest creditor. Chinese companies dominate major infrastructure projects, and Kenya paid $129.35 billion in debt servicing to Beijing in the 2024/25 fiscal year alone.

The congressional document also raises concerns about Kenyan officials’ potential ties to Al-Shabaab,

the Somali militant group responsible for deadly attacks including the 2013 Westgate Mall assault and the 2019 Riverside Drive attack in Nairobi.

If approved, US Secretaries Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and Scott Bessent, working with National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, will have 90 days to begin the review and 180 days to report to Congress.

The investigation represents a dramatic deterioration in US-Kenya relations and could force Nairobi to choose between its traditional Western partnerships and its growing ties with China and other US adversaries. Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has not responded to the congressional proposal.

For Kenya, losing MNNA status would mean the end of preferential treatment in US arms sales, military training programs and security cooperation that have anchored the bilateral relationship for decades.

As the investigation proceeds, President Ruto faces mounting pressure to explain his administration’s human rights record and controversial foreign policy alignments.