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Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka has disputed President William Ruto’s claim of responsibility for securing the lifting of Sudan’s ban on Kenyan tea, saying his own diplomatic intervention played a decisive role.
Speaking on Saturday, November 14, during the funeral of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s sister, Kalonzo questioned why Ruto was receiving credit for a decision he said he had personally pursued with the Sudanese government.
Kalonzo said he was asked to make a final appeal to Sudan during an opposition engagement in Kitengela on Sunday, November 8, with the restrictions lifted the following morning. He added that Gachagua had encouraged him to use the opportunity to push for the reopening of the Sudanese market to Kenyan tea.
“I have managed to get this ban lifted. It has nothing to do with Ruto,” Kalonzo said, challenging the President’s supporters to explain his role in the development.
The remarks have given the decision a political dimension, with both leaders presenting their diplomatic engagements as instrumental in resolving the trade dispute.
On Wednesday, November 11, Ruto announced that Sudan had agreed to lift the ban after he met Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris on the sidelines of the COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe. He said the decision would restore access to an important market for Kenyan tea exporters and support farmers whose earnings had been affected.
Kalonzo, however, said he had pursued the matter for months. On August 6, 2026, he met Sudanese Ambassador to Kenya Kamal Gubara in Nairobi and appealed for the market’s reopening.
He highlighted the economic toll of the restrictions, noting that more than Ksh3 billion worth of tea was either awaiting shipment or already in transit when the ban took effect.
He also disclosed that 3.44 million kilogrammes of tea, valued at over Ksh1.3 billion, remained in Mombasa warehouses, having been specially blended and branded for the Sudanese market.
Sudan imposed the ban in March 2025 after Kenya hosted meetings involving the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese military.
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