President William Ruto has given way forward on the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti following the establishment of a new Presidential Council in the troubled nation.
Ruto in a statement on Saturday, April 13, 2024, announced that a new nine-member Presidential Transitional Council (PTC) had been established in Haiti.
According to the head of state, the decision was evidence of the collective courage and singular sacrifice of the Haitian Council of Cabinet to entrench a new democratic administration.
“I welcome the formal Proclamation by Decree establishing the Presidential Transition Council (PTC) of the Republic of Haiti. This decision is evident of the collective courage and singular sacrifice of the Haitian Council of Cabinet to forge a Haiti free of violence and to entrench a new democratic administration,” read part of the statement.
Ruto further noted that different stakeholders are looking forward for the PTC to move with speed to appoint the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
According to Ruto, the leadership of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is to be accredited for its steadfast stewardship of the intense consultations that led to the establishment of a PTC.
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“Kenya expresses confidence that the new political leadership will lay a strong foundation for resolution of the crisis in Haiti, restoration of security, afford the Haitian people a political transition and usher in sustainable peace and development,” added Ruto.
Ruto Gives Way Forward on Deployment
Ruto further reiterated that the country would still be deploying police officers to the country as part of a contribution within the framework elaborated in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2699 of 2023.
The country pledged to deploy 1,000 police officers to restore civil order in the troubled country after being requested to do so following the authorization by the UN Security Council to have a multinational security support mission in the country.
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Earlier in March, US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman revealed a new strategy that President Joe Biden’s government had put in place ahead of the planned deployment.
Whitman revealed that the US Department of State would establish a camp in the country for Kenyan security forces ahead of their deployment.
Acknowledging that the mission was a complicated one, the Ambassador, noted that it would need the police to be retrained and vetted.
“This is a very complicated mission it is not a UN peace keeping mission. It is a different kind of mission so the police need to be trained, vetted and the department of defense needs to set up a camp in Haiti where the police force will go,” she stated.
Also, President Ruto had declared that the country would be changing its strategy in the deployment following the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The head of state in a statement on March 14, 2024, declared that Kenya would be sending of a reconnaissance team before police are deployed.
