Kenya has sought to downplay the impact of US President Donald Trump administration’s freeze of more than $13 million (Sh1.7 billion) funding for the Haiti international policing mission led by a Kenyan police contingent.
Kenyan officials argued the Kenyan-led Haiti Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission still has enough money to sustain operations until September despite the freeze by the US, which is the largest funder of the mission.
The United Nations through its spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday acknowledged receipt of an official notification from the US asking for an immediate stop work order on their contribution.
“The US had committed $15 million to the trust fund; $1.7 million of that had already been spent, so $13.3 million is now frozen,” Mr Dujarric said.
In Nairobi, officials acknowledged the decision made by Washington but refuted claims that the move by the US will jeopardise the MSS mission.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said at the end of 2024, US$110.3 million (Sh14.2 billion) had been pledged by several countries including the USA, Canada, France, Turkey, Spain, Italy and Algeria.
Of these amount, $85 million (Sh10.9 billion) had been received by the UN Trust Fund for Haiti.
“While undisbursed US contribution to the Trust Fund of $15 million has been paused as per presidential directive, the Fund has sufficient resources to continue underwriting the Mission until the end of September 2025,” Dr Sing’oei said.
Dr Monicah Juma, the National Security Advisor to President Ruto, admitted that the freeze by the US government affected the financial standing of the MSS mission.
“It is true the US contribution to the UN Trust Fund for MSS Haiti is on pause, affecting about $15 million (Sh1.9billion) in support. It is also true that the MSS mission is a priority and a beneficiary of the waiver,” she said.
However, Dr Juma said there are sufficient funds, approximately $110 million (Sh14billion), in the UN Trust Fund for Haiti from other countries to continue operations.
The fund was created at Washington’s insistence to encourage member states to contribute, but many countries remain hesitant, citing donor fatigue.
Apart from the Kenyan contingent, Guatemala, Jamaica, El Salvador, Bahamas, and Belize have also deployed officers to fight armed gangs.
Transition of mission
Dr Sing’oei further advocated for the transition of the mission to a full UN Mission to ensure financial sustainability is a key priority to which Kenya and all partners are committed.
His sentiments were reiterated by government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura who said Kenya and its partners remain fully committed to ensuring the “mission transitions to a full UN-led operation to guarantee financial sustainability and security mandate”.
While speaking at Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince last September, President William said that he was open to the mission being converted to a full UN peacekeeping operation.
“On the suggestion to transit this into a fully U.N. Peacekeeping mission, we have absolutely no problem with it, if that is the direction the U.N. security council wants to take," he said on September 21, 2024.
The international security mission, while approved by the UN Security Council, is not a United Nations operation and currently relies on voluntary contributions. The mission has so far made little progress toward helping Haiti restore order.
The MSS, active since June 2024, now comprises 859 personnel, including the latest contingent of 217 Kenyan police officers deployed last month.
In October 2022, Haiti requested the deployment of an international force to assist the Haitian National Police in combating heavily armed gangs and facilitating humanitarian aid. A year later, the U.N. Security Council authorised the MSS with the US government, through the then Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announcing $100 million (Sh12.9billion) in foreign assistance for the mission.
He also announced an additional $100 million (Sh12.9billion) in Department of Defence (DOD) funds for enabling support.
Come March 2024, Mr Blinken, announced the DOD commitment had doubled to $200 million (Sh25.8billion).
“"Given this increasing urgent need, I'm announcing today that the United States Department of Defense is doubling its approved support for the mission from $100 million to $200 million," Blinken said.
Additionally, via the presidential drawdown authority, former US president Joe Biden authorised the transfer of at least $70 million (Sh9billion) in defence articles and services from U.S. stocks to Haiti—$10 million (Sh1.29billion) in March and another $60 million in April, 2024.
As of December 2024, the United States and Canada were the top funders of the MSS in Haiti.
Data from the Congressional Research Service – an entity serves the Congress throughout the legislative process by providing comprehensive legislative research and analysis showed that the first-year estimated cost for the mission was $589 million (Sh76billion).
“The U.S has already provided $309 million (Sh39.9billion) - $200 million (25.8billion) toward the MSS mission base and $109 million (Sh14billion) in financial support,” a CRS report dated December 2024 stated.
Just hours after taking office on January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day pause so foreign aid contributions could be reviewed to see if they align with his "America First" foreign policy.
The freeze on US funds is part of Trump’s broader review of foreign assistance, a policy shift aimed at ensuring aid aligns with his administration’s “America First” foreign policy.
Beyond the uncertainty in the security state of Haiti, where the US is the single largest donor, the aid freeze has also forced clinics providing HIV/AIDS treatment to suspend operations.
Also, security advisers hired to assist both the Haiti National Police and the Kenya-led mission have been laid off, according to the Miami Herald.
The US’s decision comes barely a few weeks after the newly appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed gratitude to Kenya for leading the Haiti mission and signalled support during his confirmation hearing at the Senate.
However, neither him nor Trump has confirmed whether the US intends to continue financial backing for the operation which was approved by the UN to reinstate law, peace and order in Haiti which is currently the poorest nation in the Americas.
Last year, Haiti saw a record number of neighbourhoods in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas fall to armed gangs, despite the presence of foreign forces and a new U.S.-backed transition government.
The United Nations said more than 5,600 people were killed by gang violence in 2024, an increase over the previous two years, and over 1 million Haitians are now displaced.
Gangs, some aligned with political elites, expanded their control over territory and illicit markets during the tenure of the unpopular former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who took office after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Henry resigned in April 2024 following the formation of a Transitional Presidential Council and was replaced by Garry Conille, a former UN official who was fired by the country's ruling council less than six months after he took office.
An executive order, signed by eight of the council's nine members, named businessman and former Haiti Senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as Conille's replacement.
Conille was brought in to lead Haiti through an ongoing, gang-led security crisis and had been expected to help pave the way for the country's first presidential elections since 2016.
He described his ousting as illegal, saying that it raised "serious concerns" about Haiti's future.
