Kenya's envoy to Dominican Republic Mwenda Karisa presents credentials to President Luis Abinader
The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, making its hospitals and evacuation corridors the most immediate fallback for injured Kenyan officers.
Kenya's envoy to the Dominican Republic, Mwenda Karisa, resident in Havana, Cuba, has presented her credentials to President Luis Abinader, a gesture meant to fast-track ties at a delicate moment for Nairobi.
Kenya has deployed 800 police officers to Haiti under a UN-backed multinational security mission, a force that has struggled to find its footing amid gang dominance, weak funding, and eroding public trust.
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By drawing Santo Domingo closer, Kenya is not just securing diplomatic cover.
The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, making its hospitals and evacuation corridors the most immediate fallback for injured Kenyan officers.
It is part of a broader charm offensive.
Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi was in Santo Domingo in May, touting security cooperation, intelligence-sharing, and technology support for the Haiti mission.
On paper, the plan was to help Haitian police reclaim gang-hit neighbourhoods.
In practice, the Kenyan contingent has mostly remained confined to its bases, prompting derision in Port-au-Prince and disappointment within the Haitian police itself.
The symbolism of Karisa's accreditation is also hard to miss: it comes five years after Nairobi first established diplomatic ties with the Dominican Republic, but only months after Haiti descended further into chaos.
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