Kenya will be sending a contingent of police officers to Haiti to assist the country in combating a reign of terror waged on civilians by marauding gangs.
On Saturday, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Alfred Mutua, said the decision was arrived at after he held discussions with his counterpart from Canada who revealed the real happening in his country.
"We reviewed Haiti's situation where gangs have made towns & peoples' lives unbearable. In this regard, Kenya has offered to send police officers to assist in stabilizing the country," he said.
"Canada is one of the nations at the forefront in supporting Haiti’s process towards stability," Mutua added.
Haitian gangs have expanded their territory since the 2021 assassination of then-President Jovenel Moise.
The resulting violence has left much of the country off-limits to the government and led to routine gun battles with police.
In February, the Canadian government deployed a military aircraft over Haiti to address what it called a "dire security situation" and to support efforts to disrupt the activities of Haitian gangs.
Canada said in a statement that it supports the Haitian National Police and deployed a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft in response to Haiti's request for support as violence continues to escalate in the country.
CS Mutua also revealed that the Sudan crisis was discussed on Saturday, and that Kenya has offered to mediate between the two warring groups in Sudan.
"We both called on an immediate ceasefire and respect of #HumanRights & called on countries undermining Sudan’s peace and stability to refrain from doing so immediately," CS Mutua revealed on Twitter.
"Additionally, we agreed to support each other in the evacuation of our citizens,"
At the same time, CS Mutua noted that Kenya-Canada partnership would provide opportunities for Kenyans to work in Canada as well as open up mutual investment opportunities for both countries.
" Already, we are adjusting our TVET curriculum to meet the Canadian Labour market so that Kenyan graduates can qualify for immediate placement in Canada," he said
"We are keen to not only attract Canadian investors to Kenya but also open up the Canadian market for value-added products from Kenya," he added.
