First Lady Rachel Ruto sensationally announced she is forming a prayer strategy team that will pray for the police officers set to be deployed to Haiti.
Kenya plans to deploy more than 1,000 officers to Haiti to help combat gangs.
The teams are from the Rapid Deployment Unit, Anti Stock Theft Unit, General Service Unit, and Border Patrol Unit.
Gang violence has dramatically worsened in the Caribbean country.
According to a UN report published last month, Haitian gangs killed 8,400 people last year, an increase of 122 percent from 2022.
The First Lady made the revelation on Saturday during the launch of the ‘Fourth Man’ EP by 1005 Songs & More at the Weston Hotel, Nairobi.
She said there is a need for prayers adding that the government can not allow the officers to leave for Haiti without being prayed for.
“We have come together to say we want to form a prayer strategy, and we would like you to join us in praying for this great country of Haiti because we know the Lord can transform Haiti. We have seen what God has done for the nation of Kenya, and we believe God can do the same for nations of the world,” she added.
“We cannot allow our police to go to Haiti without prayer. We had pastors from Haiti and America, and we are seeing how these three countries can come together to pray because we believe with prayer everything is possible.”
She said she had been engaged in a two-day meeting to discuss the Haiti peace-keeping mission.
The meeting has pastors from Haiti as well as those from America.
This comes after President William Ruto on March 15 announced a plan to deploy a reconnaissance mission as soon as a viable administration is in place in Haiti.
He said Kenya has a plan to deploy a reconnaissance mission as soon as a viable administration is in place in Haiti.
Ruto held telephone conversations with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of The Bahamas Philip Davis, representing the Caribbean Community and Common Market as well as Haiti’s outgoing Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
This was in regard to ongoing violence in Haiti in the wake of the resignation of Henry as the prime minister.
“During our discussions, I conveyed our unwavering commitment to supporting Haiti, emphasising that they are our brothers and sisters.”
“I assured them that we will remain actively involved and we will not abandon Haiti in their time of need,” said Ruto in a post on X.
He said he outlined Kenya’s plan to deploy a reconnaissance mission as soon as a viable administration is in place, assuring that the security personnel are adequately prepared and informed to respond effectively to the evolving situation.
There is ongoing diplomatic pressure for a UN backed team to be deployed to Haiti soonest possible.
Ruto held a telephone conversation with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the developments in Haiti.
Blinken briefed Ruto on the decision of the Summit of Caribbean Countries (Caricom) and the US, together with other partners, on the political situation in Haiti.
“He informed me that a new Presidential Council will be formed shortly to manage the situation in Haiti.”
“I assured Secretary Blinken that Kenya will take leadership of the UN Security Support Mission in Haiti to restore peace and security in Haiti as soon as the Presidential Council is in place under an agreed process,” Ruto said.
He made the revelations a day after Henry resigned from office.
The resignation of Henry follows weeks of mounting pressure and increasing violence in the country.
This threw the plans to deploy the officers into confusion.
Henry is currently stranded in Puerto Rico after being prevented by armed gangs from returning home.
He had led the country since the former president’s assassination in July 2021.
Henry had been in Kenya on March 1 to sign a deal on the deployment of an international security force to help tackle violence when a coalition of gangs attacked police stations and stormed two of Haiti’s largest prisons.
A plane carrying Henry was stopped from landing following sustained attacks at Haiti’s international airport.
The Kenyan-led Haiti Mission is in the pre-deployment stage.
This means the team is on standby mode and all they are waiting for are logistics to move.
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.
Several countries have pledged financial and logistical support to the team to be deployed to Haiti.
They include the US, Canada, Chile, Jamaica, Nigeria, Benin and Burundi.
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