Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry arrived in Nairobi Thursday to iron out issues barring the deployment of 1,000 police officers to help restore peace in his country.
Officials said he was in Nairobi to finalise modalities for the deployment of the MSS with Kenyan authorities and those of other countries in the African continent.
He was received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by water cabinet Secretary Zachary Njeru who said the PM was in Kenya for various engagements.
Kenya which will lead the team to combat the gangs plans to deploy more than 1,000 officers to Haiti to help in the mission.
The teams are from the Rapid Deployment Unit, Anti Stock Theft Unit, General Service Unit, and Border Patrol Unit.
Plans are that Henry and other Kenyan security officials will sign a Memorandum of understanding to enable the process of deployment of the team go on as planned.
This is after Haiti’s government announced on February 14 that it was working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to secure the long-awaited deployment of a police force from Nairobi.
Officials from Kenya and Haiti met in the U.S. to set a deadline for the arrival of Kenyan forces as well as drafting a memorandum of understanding, officials said.
The Kenyan delegation was led by former Inspector General of police Joseph Boinnet who is also the deputy National Security advisor to Ruto.
It is understood, as suggested by the court on the need for reciprocity, Haiti had sent a memorandum of understanding to Kenya on the need to deploy the police officers there.
Kenya’s law provides for a mechanism in which police officers can be deployed abroad if there is a reciprocal arrangement with the host country.
The deployment was to take place in February, 2024 but was delayed.
The delay came after the high court blocked the U.N-backed deployment on January 26.
Henry made a request for a security deployment in October 2022, which was only approved by the U.N. Security Council a year later.
Henry has faced widespread protests calling for his resignation as the country continues to be gripped by gang violence during his tenure.
The developments come amid revelations Benin has offered to contribute 2,000 troops to the UN-approved Kenyan-led multinational security force that will be deployed to fight gang violence in Haiti.
The announcement was made on Monday during a press briefing held in Georgetown by the United States Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
A US statement issued on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro last week had announced “financial, personnel, and in-kind commitments to the mission” from Benin, France and Canada, the latter which later announced 80.5 million Canadian dollars ($60 million) for the mission.
The US has itself committed $200 million and pledged to boost efforts to stem the flow of illicit arms to the Caribbean region.
The UN estimates firearms held by Haitian gangs are largely smuggled from the United States.
The UN has said that 800 people have been killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti during the month of January, representing a three fold increase to January 2023.
An unprecedented surge in gang violence is plaguing Haiti, with the number of victims killed, injured and kidnapped.
Some 300 gangs control an estimated 80 percent of the capital and accounted for 83 percent of last year’s killings and injuries.
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