Home / National

Kenya mission to Haiti now at 'pre-deployment' stage, state says

By Mary Wambui | 11 Mar 2024

Kindiki dispels reports that the mission is shaky, saying a legal hurdle that had delayed it has been resolved.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has dispelled rumours that the planned police deployment to Haiti is uncertain and may not take place owing to the escalating violence in the Caribbean country.

Kindiki reported on Monday that the country had overcome the "small legal" hurdle that had delayed the deployment and was at the "pre-deployment" stage of the unique mission authorised by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Keep reading

"There was a small court matter that has been resolved. The court said we needed to have a reciprocal agreement, which was signed about a week ago," he told journalists in Machakos County after meeting with the Security and Intelligence Committee.

"We are now in the pre-deployment stage. All the other programmes are now fully in place, including the Status of Forces Agreement, laws of detentions, arrests, Standard Operation Procedures and other enforcement measures."

Interior minister Kithure Kindiki addresses the press in Machakos County following a meeting with the Security and Intelligence Committee on March 11, 2024. (Photo: Interior ministry)

The CS further confirmed that Kenya will lead the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti. Kenya last year pledged to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti and has been training the team ahead of the deployment.

Kindiki's assertions dispel recent claims that the mission has been shaky and that police officers were voluntarily exiting the deployment list.

The increasingly volatile situation in Haiti has driven the demand for the MSS intervention as some of the leading gangs are seeking to collapse the government and oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

The gangs have raided multiple police stations, airports, prisons and hospitals and warned Henry, who was in Kenya two weeks ago for the signing of the reciprocal agreement, against returning to the capital, Port au Prince.

On Sunday, United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken engaged President Wiliam Ruto in a phone conversation over how to accelerate the deployment.

"They underscored unwavering commitment to the deployment of a Multinational Security Support Mission to support the Haitian National Police in creating the security conditions necessary to conduct free and fair elections," a statement by the US said.

DCI boss Amin Mohamed, Interior PS Raymond Omollo, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki, IG Japhet Koome, Kenya Police Service Deputy IG Douglas Kanja and Administration Police Service Deputy IG Noor Gabow are pictured in Machakos County following a meeting with the Security and Intelligence Committee on March 11, 2024. (Photo: Interior ministry)

The MSS is a force approved by the UNSC on October 2, 2023, to help restore law and order in the country plagued by gang violence.

On October 13, 2023, both the National Security Council and Cabinet approved the deployment of Kenya's police officers, while Parliament gave its unanimous authorisation on November 16, 2023.

On March 1, PM Henry visited Kenya and witnessed the signing of the protocol between Kenya and Haiti on the deployment of the force, a step which signalled the start of the pre-deployment process.

Before he arrived in Nairobi, Henry attended the 46th ordinary meeting of the US delegation to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of State and Government, where US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Linda Thomas-Greenfield, reiterated the need for the speedy deployment of the mission.

The decision was informed by violence that has blocked major access routes in Haiti, preventing food, aid and medical relief supplies and leaving millions in dire need of humanitarian aid.

"The leaders agreed on the urgency of deploying the UN-authorised Multinational Security Support mission to enable the Haitian National Police to restore peace and security, enable the holding of free and fair elections, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Haiti," Nate Evans, spokesman for the US Mission to the UN, said after the meeting.