- He said he conveyed our unwavering commitment to supporting Haiti, emphasising that they are our brothers and sisters
- There is ongoing diplomatic pressure for a UN-backed team to be deployed to Haiti soonest possible.
Image: PCS
President William Ruto once again committed to sending Kenyan police to Haiti to help contain violence in the Caribbean nation.
He said Kenya has a plan to deploy a reconnaissance mission as soon as a viable administration is in place in Haiti.
Ruto, Thursday held telephone conversations with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of The Bahamas Philip Davis, representing the Caribbean Community and Common Market as well as Haiti’s outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
This was in regard to ongoing violence in Haiti in the wake of the resignation of Henry as the prime minister.
“During our discussions, I conveyed our unwavering commitment to supporting Haiti, emphasising that they are our brothers and sisters.”
“I assured them that we will remain actively involved and we will not abandon Haiti in their time of need,” Ruto said in a post on X.
He said he outlined Kenya’s plan to deploy a reconnaissance mission as soon as a viable administration is in place, assuring that the security personnel are adequately prepared and informed to respond effectively to the evolving situation.
There is ongoing diplomatic pressure for a UN-backed team to be deployed to Haiti as soon as possible.
This came a day after President Ruto on Wednesday held a telephone conversation with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the developments in Haiti.
Blinken briefed Ruto on the decision of the Summit of Caribbean Countries (Caricom) and the US, together with other partners, on the political situation in Haiti.
“He informed me that a new Presidential Council will be formed shortly to manage the situation in Haiti.”
“I assured Secretary Blinken that Kenya will take leadership of the UN Security Support Mission in Haiti to restore peace and security in Haiti as soon as the Presidential Council is in place under an agreed process,” Ruto said.
He made the revelations a day after Henry resigned from office. The resignation of Henry follows weeks of mounting pressure and increasing violence in the country.
This threw the plans to deploy the officers into confusion. It comes after regional leaders met in Jamaica to discuss a political transition in Haiti.
Henry is currently stranded in Puerto Rico after being prevented by armed gangs from returning home.
He had led the country since the former president's assassination in July 2021.
Henry had been in Kenya on March 1 to sign a deal on the deployment of an international security force to help tackle violence when a coalition of gangs attacked police stations and stormed two of Haiti's largest prisons.
A plane carrying Henry was stopped from landing following sustained attacks at Haiti's international airport.
In Kenya, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki disclosed that the Kenyan-led Haiti Mission is in the pre-deployment stage. This means the team is on standby mode and all they are waiting for are logistics to move.
Kenya which will lead the team to combat the gangs plans to deploy more than 1,000 officers to Haiti to help in the mission.
The teams are from the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), General Service Unit (GSU), and Border Patrol Unit (BPU). This is a combat-trained team that officials say can handle the situation on the ground professionally.
Heavily armed gangs have controlled the streets of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince in recent days, demanding the resignation of the unelected prime minister.
Several countries have pledged financial and logistical support to the team to be deployed to Haiti.
They include the US, Canada, Chile, Jamaica, Nigeria, Benin and Burundi.