Complaint Filed Before Kenyan Courts Against RSF Over Alleged War Crimes

Sudanhorizon – Agencies

Twelve victims of the Sudan conflict filed what is being described as the first criminal complaint of its kind before Kenyan judicial authorities on Tuesday against members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing them of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The move represents the first known attempt to pursue RSF leaders and members outside Sudan under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

According to reports published by Al Jazeera and Associated Press, the complaint was submitted by the Global Legal Action Network and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies through a Kenyan law firm to the Director of Public Prosecutions in Nairobi.

The complaint calls for an investigation into ten RSF members who are alleged to have links to Kenya, with some reportedly believed to be present in the country.

The allegations concern crimes said to have been committed in Khartoum and surrounding areas between April 2023 and March 2025, during the period when the RSF controlled large parts of the Sudanese capital.

According to the complaint file, the victims were subjected to detention in conditions described as inhumane, including deprivation of food, drinking water, and medical care. The allegations also include beatings, burning, electric shocks, strangulation, and sexual violence, including rape and sexual slavery. Some detainees were reportedly forced to transport bodies from inside detention facilities.

Human rights organizations quoted one victim as saying that RSF members violently interrogated him, held him in darkness for weeks, and attempted at gunpoint to force him to assault another detainee.

Antonia Mulvey, Executive Director of the Global Legal Action Network, said the complaint offers Kenya an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to combating impunity. She urged Kenyan authorities to use the country’s 2008 International Crimes Act to prosecute those accused of the most serious international crimes, regardless of where the alleged offenses occurred.

Mulvey added that the RSF had devastated the lives of millions of Sudanese people and was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, arguing that public opinion in Kenya is aware that some suspects allegedly “move freely to and from Kenya.” She stressed that Kenya should not become a safe haven for suspected war criminals.

Meanwhile, Kenyan lawyer Willis Otieno, who submitted the complaint, said available information indicates that some of those sought for investigation have connections to Kenya. He noted that Kenya’s legal framework permits the investigation and prosecution of international crimes.

The complaint comes amid growing accusations against the RSF from the United Nations and international human rights groups regarding alleged violations that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly in Darfur, where UN reports have described attacks bearing characteristics associated with genocide.

The allegations contained in the complaint have been made by the complainants and supporting organizations. The case remains subject to investigation and judicial review by the relevant Kenyan authorities.

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