Kalonzo Musyoka: How rebels attacked Kenya's embassy in Sudan
Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka during the National Dialogue Committee talks at Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi on September 1, 2023.
By Kitavi Mutua
Nation Media Group
What you need to know:
- Musyoka says the attack on Kenya’s Sudan mission, which was never disclosed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, happened as Nairobi prepared to close the embassy and rescue Kenyans from the war-struck Sudan.
- According to Kalonzo, the ambassador and other embassy staff escaped by tuk tuk as rebels ransacked the premises.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka yesterday claimed that Kenya’s Ambassador to Sudan Major-General (rtd) Ngewa Mukala narrowly survived death in a brazen attack by a faction of soldiers who raided his official residence in June last year, but the government concealed the information.
But in a quick response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs rejected the claims, saying all staff in Sudan was safely evacuated when war broke out, and the embassy was closed.
Mr Musyoka said that Maj-Gen Mukala, a former Commander of Kenya Navy, had his mobile phones and other valuables stolen by the soldiers who also drove away with the embassy’s official car with the Kenyan flag still mounted on it.
This happened in the chaotic turn of events after war broke out between rival factions of the military government — the Sudanese Armed Forces under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces under General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemedti”.
Mr Musyoka said the attack, which was never disclosed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, happened as Kenya prepared to close the embassy and rescue Kenyans from the war-struck Sudan in June last year, Mr Musyoka told “Sunday Nation”.
The former Vice-President said that the ambassador and other embassy staff escaped by tuk tuk as rebels ransacked the premises.
Kenya's ambassador to Khartoum, Major General Ngewa Mukala He was almost killed by Sudanese rebels who raided his official residence in June last year
“Our ambassador in Sudan Major-General Ngewa Mukala was attacked and almost killed by soldiers allied to General ‘Hemedti’ who was entertained by President William Ruto at State House Nairobi,” the former Foreign Affairs minister said.
The former long-serving envoy to South Sudan likened the magnitude of the raid to that of the September 2012 attack on United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the ambassador was killed.
“What is most shocking is the gravity of the situation that the ambassador went through and the silence from the ministry, and indeed the Kenya Kwanza government since then,” Mr Musyoka said while addressing journalists at his Kitui home.
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka during an interview at his home in Nairobi on December 30, 2023.
But Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Dr Korir Sing’oei said all embassy officials were safely taken out of Sudan, and the closure of the embassy in that country was made public.
“This is revisionism,” Dr Sing’oei said.
“The war broke out April 15, 2013 and the government started the process of evacuating its citizens. The embassy under Ambassador Mukala played a great role in that process. All technical and financial resources for the evacuation were channelled through our mission in Khartoum. When the embassy was attacked, the government sent out a strong protest letter to the Sudanese government and started to mobilise evacuation of the embassy staff and the ambassador. The government flew the ambassador to Addis Ababa then Nairobi. We did what we could to support the entire mission in an effort that was successful, all factors constant,” said Dr Sing’oei in response to “Sunday Nation” queries.
Diaspora Affairs PS Roseline Njogu said Ambassador Mukala has since retired, and thanked him for his service.
“Ambassador Mukala led the embassy during a difficult time for all Kenyans in Sudan at the time, and we are grateful for the work he and our team at Kenyan Embassy in Khartoum were able to do to evacuate over 1,100 Kenyans,” Ms Njogu said.
Mr Musyoka wondered why the government kept the country in the dark over last year’s chaotic happenings in Khartoum especially after the ambassador was forced to escape by tuk tuk to the border of Ethiopia.
He said that the ambassador then found his way to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa by road where he boarded a flight to Nairobi.
Mr Musyoka said he expected to hear a statement from President Ruto on why that had to happen because that raid was carried out by General ‘Hemedti’ s soldiers.
Contacted for comment, Maj-Gen Mukala confirmed the attack. He said that he was in Kenya but declined to further discuss the incident, only saying he was happy to be alive.
“I don’t want to discuss that incident, I live everyday as if it is my last day in life,” he told the “Sunday Nation” on the telephone.
Mr Musyoka said that the National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee should summon Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who doubles up as the Foreign Affairs CS, to explain to the country what transpired.
“This attack was in contravention of all the known international diplomatic norms based on the Vienna Convention. How can the embassy of a friendly country be ransacked and run over?” He asked.
Also Read: What caused Sudan military clashes?
“We demand a clear and unequivocal statement from the government on what happened and why it was not shared with the Kenyan public.”
Maj-Gen Mukala served as the Commander of the Kenya Navy between July 2011 and August 2015.
According to international law, if an embassy is attacked, the host country must defend it using military or police force as needed. If that doesn’t happen, the country with the embassy would have to consider closing its embassy and in extreme cases, ending diplomatic relations with the host country. Nine months into a bloody war, nearly 8 million people have been forced from their homes in Sudan, according to data from the United Nations.
