Ruto’s risky gambit: Is Kenya meddling or mediating in regional conflicts?
Kenya's President Ruto (left) with his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa at the joint summit of East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on February 8, 2025.
Kenya’s President William Ruto is taking a bold stance in an attempt to resolve two major conflicts in the region, driven by personal alliances and a desire to bolster his reputation, despite the controversies surrounding his involvement.
Nairobi insists that he does not need to be liked or even impartial to offer solutions in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the sanctioned M23 rebels have recently advanced, or in Sudan, where a brutal war between the sanctioned Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army has killed at least 23,000 people and displaced 12 million others.
