President William Ruto/SCREENGRABPresident William Ruto has highlighted that Kenya will not abruptly pull its forces out of Haiti until there is a clear plan for a new international mission to sustain recent security gains.
Speaking during an interview on France 24, the President said he believes Kenya’s deployment under the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) has achieved landmark” successes but insisted that Nairobi will only disengage when there is clarity on a transition.
“We were asked to step in, and we believe the mission is completed and was a success,” Ruto said.
“But the one thing Kenya will not do is to walk away from Haiti without clarity on a transition. We will be there to make sure the next mission, once it is formed, is well structured. It’s not clear when that will be formed, it’s not clear how it will be resourced — there are many things still hanging.”
He confirmed that Kenya’s plan remains to bring its troops back home, but stressed there is a vacuum left in the Caribbean nation.
He said Kenya’s forces have been instrumental in regaining critical state infrastructure from criminal gangs and restoring basic services.
Ruto cited updates he received from the chairman of Haiti’s Presidential Council.
“When we went to Haiti, both the air and sea ports had been overrun by gangs. Today, they are operating. Schools and hospitals had been overrun; today, they are operating. The palace was under siege from gangs; today, that is where the Presidential Council and Prime Minister sit," Ruto said.
"Police headquarters, together with the training academy, were overrun, and gangs were operating from police headquarters. Today it’s working, and they have just graduated 700 officers,” he added.
The President said these gains have laid the foundation for success, but warned that future operations must go further.
He recommended three key measures for the next phase: a wider mandate to aggressively pursue gangs, stronger logistical support to address the shortages faced in the first phase, and a larger troop presence to consolidate security.
“With these, we have set the foundation of the success of the intervention in Haiti and recommended how it should look going into the future," he said.
