A leading US human rights group has waded into the Kenya–Sudan passport scandal by calling out Kenyan authorities for issuing identity and travel documents to individuals linked to human rights abuses in war-torn Sudan.
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.
Just a fortnight ago, a leaked list from the Kenya Immigration Department showed that Kenya had issued or was in the process of issuing passports to Sudanese and Zimbabwean nationals whose credentials were considered questionable.
The list included individuals linked to the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in Sudan and a Zimbabwean national accused of corruption in his country. It also showed that the passports were processed between August 2024 and February this year.
“They are selling the Kenyan passports for the price of peanuts,” stated Activist Boniface Mwangi.
The saga has drawn widespread condemnation from Kenyans who questioned the processes used to grant the documents, as well as from leaders who warned that the controversy could erode the credibility of the Kenyan passport.
Despite the outrage that followed the passport revelations, the immigration department under Director General Evelyn Cheluget and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has yet to issue a detailed response.
The entry of the international human rights body into the matter is now expected to intensify scrutiny on the Kenyan government as pressure mounts for answers.
