Haiti’s Prime Minister Garry Conille and Kenyan President William Ruto after a press briefing at State House, Nairobi on October 11, 2024.
The Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti lacks enough budget to run its activities until October 2025.
President William Ruto has sent out an appeal to the international community to pump in more resources to help restore peace in the gang-infested country.
“We have a budget that takes us to March next year, in terms of being able to support our officers on the ground including those joining next month to have adequate resources,” President Ruto said during a press conference held in State House on Friday.
The Head of State, addressing the media alongside Haiti’s Prime Minister Dr Garry Conille, further said that an additional 600 officers are currently in training and will be deployed to Haiti in November.
President Ruto said that Kenya and Haiti were jointly calling on the international community to rally behind the mission urgently.
“Words and pledges must be matched by concrete action. We therefore strongly implore our global partners to accelerate their contribution to the personnel, logistics and financial resources necessary to sustain and expand the mission,” he said.
The Haiti mission was to end this October but the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2751 (2024) extended it for another year, which, according to President Ruto, “signals strong global support”.
Kenya is the lead country in the ongoing security mission and, according to President Ruto, there has been immense progress in restoring peace in Haiti.
The mission’s Commander is Kenyan Godfrey Otunge and he is deputised by Colonel Kevron Henry of Jamaica. Jamaica is the only other country that has already sent its troops to the Caribbean nation.
The Kenyan officers usually hold operations alongside those attached to the Haiti National Police (HNP) and, jointly, have managed to recapture key sites such as the general hospital, the port and the National Palace which were being controlled by gangs.
President Ruto said that the Kenyan officers had conducted themselves well in Haiti and have respected human rights.
“This is a battle we can win if our friends stand resolutely in solidarity with Haiti. I urge our officers to remain steadfast in discharging their responsibilities,” he said.
Asked about the personal state of the Kenyan officers, especially the number of those who had been injured during the ongoing operations in Haiti, the Head of State was not willing to divulge more information citing security reasons.
President Ruto also said that apart from security issues, Kenya will collaborate with Haiti in trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.
Dr Conille thanked President Ruto for his commitment to restoring peace in his home country.
He said that he would seek more support from other countries.
The Prime Minister flew into the country on Thursday after holding a series of meetings with top government officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who he said showed commitment to assisting the Caribbean country.
Dr Conille also rubbished claims that the Kenyan officers had not conducted any major operation and were just operating within their camp located in Port-au-Prince.
According to him, the Kenyan officers were behind the recapturing of areas that were previously being run by gangs.
“The Kenyan officers have been of help ever since they jetted into Haiti, they work closely with the HNP,” he said.
The Nation understands that currently there is a diplomatic tiff between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Mid this week, Dr Conille raised concerns faulting the Dominican Republic for deporting Haitian nationals who had sought refuge there.
“The forced and mass deportation of our Haitian compatriots from the Dominican Republic is a violation of the fundamental principles of human dignity,” he said.
At his request, the Organization of American States (OAS) held an urgent meeting on Tuesday regarding the most recent mass deportation of Haitian immigrants by the Dominican Republic.
In his statement over the deportation of the Haiti nationals, Gandy Thomas, Haiti’s Permanent Representative to the OAS, said that it would be important if a solution is found, adding that this should respect fundamental human rights.
He termed the deportations as “widespread discrimination.”
A week ago, over 70 people were killed in Haiti and hundreds of others were injured following a gang attack.
Some of the displaced Haitians fled to the neighbouring Dominican Republic. But, days later, they were deported.
Apart from Kenya and Jamaica, other countries that are expected to deploy their security personnel to Haiti include the Bahamas, Antigua, Barbuda, Italy, Spain, Mongolia, Senegal, Belize, Suriname, Guatemala and Peru.
Haiti has reeled from years of violence as gangs, which enjoy close ties to the country’s political and business leaders, have fought for influence and control of territory.
In February 2024, there was a rise in the attacks, which led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
This led to the creation of the transitional presidential council, which settled on Dr Conille to serve as the Prime Minister until the country holds elections.
