By: Staff Writer
May 17, 2024
Kenyan troops to arrive in Haiti by this weekend ahead of president William Ruto’s state visit to the US and Haitians are waiting in eager anticipation.
n May 23, President Joe Biden will host Kenyan president William Ruto at the White House for a state visit that marks the sixtieth anniversary of US-Kenyan diplomatic relations. This gathering (the first such visit by an African head of state since 2008) is expected to coincide with the formal launch of the US-backed, Kenyan-led multinational police intervention in Haiti, signaling — in the words of White House press secretary Karine Jeanne-Pierre — that “African leadership is essential to addressing global priorities.”
Kenyan authorities have confirmed their readiness to deploy troops to Haiti to combat the escalating gang violence plaguing the Caribbean nation.
This move follows extensive discussions between Kenyan officials and their American counterparts, culminating in a visit by a group of top Kenyan security personnel to Washington, D.C., where they finalized the deployment plans over the course of five days. The initial contingent, comprising approximately 200 soldiers, has been placed on standby and is poised to embark on their mission between May 18 and May 22 right before Ruto’s planned visit.
Kenya, will deploy a team of 1,000 police officers alongside 2,500 soldiers drawn from several other nations, including Jamaica, Chile, Grenada, Paraguay, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria, and Mauritius.
With reports indicating a staggering death toll attributed to gang violence, which claimed 4,451 lives last year and 1,554 lives by March this year, the situation in Haiti has reached dire proportions.
The elite officers are drawn from Kenya’s police Recce Squad, Rapid Deployment Force and Special Operation Group. The latter have been fighting al-Shabaab insurgents along the Kenya–Somalia border. They are no strangers to violent armed actors. Half of the contingent are expected to secure critical installations, including the airport, while the rest will be involved in close-quarter combat against the gangs, which have taken control of over 80 per cent of Port au Prince. An advance team of hundreds of Kenyan reconnaissance officers and top police personnel were sent for special training in the US in late last year to prepare them for the mission.
News about the deployment caused initial excitement within the Kenyan security sector but was later almost scuppered by a court ruling in Nairobi in January that declared the envisaged deployment of Kenya police officers unconstitutional. The presiding judge said that the two countries lacked the requisite reciprocal agreement, and that the president does not have the constitutional mandate to deploy police abroad. Kenya’s president, William Ruto, and Ariel Henry had to scramble together a bilateral agreement on 1 March 2024 to circumvent the court’s ruling.
With Henry now out of the way, Ruto has to deal with Fritz Bélizaire, Haiti’s new Prime Minister who was selected by Haiti’s transitional council.