A Lifeline For Haiti: Additional Kenyan Forces Across The Atlantic

A second contingent of Kenyan troops comprising 200 police officers have been deployed to the troubled Carribean nation of Haiti.

President Ruto flagged off the first batch of 400 soldiers on June 24, 2024, as part of a UN - backed multi-national mission to Haiti. The Kenyan government promised to send 1000 boots on the ground with additional batteries drawn from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica.

The coalition of forces is set to embody a total of 2500 personnel. Kenya is the first East African country to chime in on an international peacekeeping initiative across the Atlantic in an effort to restore normalcy to Haiti after gang violence spiked in recent months.

“We are happy to work side by side with Kenyans,” said the Haiti National Police chief Normil Rameau as he welcomed the deployed troops into the country.

Kenya’s posse comprises elite forces from the Administrative Police Units (AP) and special operations groups in the paramilitary G.S.U who have previously undertaken combat operations against Al-Shabaab insurgents and have been critical in curbing domestic violence.

Six Hundred more troops from Kenya are expected to join the mission.

A defense agreement in September 2023 saw the US pledge $300 million, Canada offered $123 million, and Haiti $80.5 million to fund the undertaking by supplying the squad with necessary equipment. Operation costs are estimated to run into 600 million dollars in total.

Kenyan forces will be stationed at a US-built base, coordinating with Haiti police to regain critical installations, including airports and seaports, that have fallen into gang control.

Haiti has witnessed an uptick in gang-related violence since February 2024. The yawning security service in Haiti, numbering about 10,000, has failed to fend off violent gangs that have managed to control up to 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Over 200 gangs command and roam the city, terrorizing citizens and mounting acts of violence.

Reports indicate that over 4,450 people have been killed, with growing numbers fleeing the violence in the capital.

Alarms have been raised over the surging flow of ‘sophisticated weaponry’ into gang arms. UN experts have expressed worry on this unfolding situation narrating that the ‘firepower exceeds that of the Haitian police.’

Citizens have been targeted for petty crimes and/or suspicion of alleged support for rival gangs. Arson, gang rape, summary executions and kidnappings have been rampant since the onset of the violence. Other reports note that children have been recruited by gangs ahead of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti. This proves a challenge for the troops in isolating terror cells from unarmed subjects.

Garry Conille, Haiti’s interim P.M described Kenya's involvement in the intervention as a “unique opportunity”.

The multilateral mission was formulated to tame the escalating violence in Haiti. Kenya's collaboration is as a result of its role in former peacekeeping efforts under the A.U in nations such as Namibia, South Sudan and most notably, AMISOM in Somalia.

However, opposition has mounted at home regarding the government's decision to okay the dispatch of the police force. The High Court of Kenya, on January 26, 2024 temporarily halted the deployment, citing contravention of the law and failure to conduct public participation on the matter. Despite the growing discontent, plans were put in motion after the new Prime Minister was appointed.

Legal experts deemed the move as “chaotic and wrapped in secrecy.“

Kenya's confidence in advancing the call to Haiti’s aid is meant to assist the transitional government of Haiti to restore order and ensure human rights are upheld.