KHARTOUM — Twelve victims filed a war crimes complaint with Kenyan prosecutors, alleging torture and sexual violence by members of the Rapid Support Forces. This action marks the first attempt to prosecute the group's members outside of Sudan.
The global legal organization Legal Action Worldwide filed the complaint, which addresses alleged incidents of torture and sexual violence in and around Khartoum between April 2023 and March 2025. The twelve victims are requesting Kenya's Director of Public Prosecutions to approve charges against 10 of the group's members.
The complaint includes allegations that victims were held in conditions with limited food, water, and inadequate sanitation. Additionally, victims reported being beaten, burned, suffocated, subjected to electric shocks, and sexually abused, including through rape. Some victims also reported being forced to transport dead bodies from detention facilities.
Antonia Mulvey, founder of Legal Action Worldwide, said, "For Sudanese victims, it represents a rare and urgent needed pathway to justice at a time when accountability options remain extremely limited. Sudan's justice system is inaccessible, unavailable and ineffective at this time." She also indicated that Kenya should consider prosecuting the alleged crimes under its International Crimes Act of 2008.
Lawyer Willis Otieno filed the complaint in Kenya. He stated that there is information indicating some persons of interest have links to Kenya. Otieno also maintained that Kenya possesses the legal framework to investigate and prosecute such crimes, describing Kenya's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as competent. Otieno said, "We have faith that the DPP will act."
The group originated from the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities in the early 2000s in Sudan's Darfur region. The Biden administration has accused the group of genocide and imposed sanctions on its commanders. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project reported that at least 59,000 people have died in the conflict, and the U.N. reports approximately 34 million people require assistance.