By: Staff Writer
June 28, 2024
Kenyan troops are now in Haiti as the nation tries to come to grips with its out of control gang crisis that has further crippled the nation already dealing with a political crisis that was sparked off by the assassination of its president in July, 2021.
But, Kenya itself is dealing with its own crisis as protestors have stormed that country’s parliament over massive protests of the country’s perceived corruption that was sparked off by a controversial finance bill that triggered protestors into action.
This recent development leaves to question Kenya’s commitment to Haiti after it had sent the first 400 of a pledged 1,000 troops to the Caribbean country.
Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Garry Conille has vowed to end lawlessness with the help of the Kenyan-led international force deployed to the Caribbean nation.
The arrival of 400 Kenyan police officers, in the first tranche of an international force, was a “unique opportunity” to restore order, Mr Conille said.
“I want no-one to doubt the purpose of the mission. The state will regain power and reaffirm its authority so all Haitians can live peacefully in this country,” he said.
Other Caribbean countries have vowed to send troops as well and were contingent on the Kenyan troops arriving in Haiti.
It is not clear what the officers’ first task will be but their objective is to steer Haiti out of a security crisis that has been intensifying since Moïse was assassinated in 2021. Kenyan news reports suggest they will be responsible for defending key infrastructure including the airport, the port, the presidential palace, and the gang-controlled highways connecting the besieged capital with the rest of Haiti.
Biden said the eventual 2,500-strong force would also count on personnel and financial support from Benin, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Algeria, Canada, France, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the UK and Spain.
While the UN has urged the international community to send a security force to Haiti, a long and controversial history of foreign interventions has caused critics to question the initiative.
Those doubts have been exacerbated by a lack of concrete details regarding the goals and actions of the latest mission.
“What is going to happen vis-a-vis the gangs?” said Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, a senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. “Is it a static mission? Is it a moving mission? All those details are still missing, and I think it’s about time that there’s actually transparency.”