Arabic version: شكوى في كينيا تختبر إطار المساءلة بشأن قوات الدعم السريع

According to Allafrica, Kenya is still deciding whether to investigate members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after two human rights organisations filed a criminal complaint with the Director of Public Prosecutions in June on behalf of 12 Sudanese victims. Legal Action Worldwide and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies called for an investigation into alleged international crimes during Sudan’s civil war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The complaint concerns alleged torture, unlawful detention, conflict-related sexual violence and killings in and around Khartoum from April 2023 to March 2025. Kenya’s 2009 International Crimes Act allows prosecution of foreign nationals when an alleged perpetrator is present in the country. The filing says some RSF suspects have ties to Kenya and travel through it, but does not identify the individuals or their locations.

The analysis by Moses Chrispus Okello and Tadesse Simie Metekia says Kenya lacks a sustained record of prosecuting international crimes and would need specialist capacity for areas including command responsibility, digital and financial evidence, witness protection and mutual legal assistance. Investigators would also face major limits in gathering evidence from Sudan, where they cannot independently inspect sites, seize records or compel witnesses.

The authors say cooperation under Kenya’s 2011 Mutual Legal Assistance Act, or through an African Union-supported team, could help obtain testimony and records outside Sudan. They argue that the more decisive barrier may be political: whether Kenya would pursue an armed movement whose leaders and associates have reportedly had political access, residence and protection in the country. The complaint could nevertheless establish an official record of victims’ allegations and test Kenya’s universal-jurisdiction framework.