President William Ruto has revealed timelines for deployment of Kenya police for the peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
Speaking to BBC, President Ruto acknowledged that the first team is already in Haiti and added that another team will arrive in Haiti in about three weeks. However, the deployment of the second team will only happen after a ground assessment and assurance that everything is set.
“I have a team already in Haiti as I speak to you,” President Ruto told the BBC on Friday.
“Once we have that assessment that we agreed with the Haitian police and the Haitian leadership, we are looking at the horizon of between three weeks and there about for us to be ready to deploy, once everything on the ground is set,” Ruto added.
This implies that the latest they can arrive in Haiti is June 15th.
William Ruto on Haiti Deployment
More than 1,000 police officers will join other teams in Haiti for the mission aimed at restoring peace in the violence affected nation.
“The team already in Haiti will give us a frame of what things look like on the ground, the capabilities that are available, and the infrastructure that has been set up,” Ruto said.
Also Read: Kenyan Officers Reveal Special Training They Are Undergoing Ahead of Haiti Deployment
Apart from Kenya, other countries that will send officers to Haiti are Chile, Jamaica, Paraguay, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria and Mauritius.
However, Kenya will lead the team to combat the gangs plans in an operation that will include safeguarding of key national installations.
President Ruto’s comments came as he concluded a three-day state visit to Washington DC, the first official state visit of any African leader to the US in over 15 years.
During his trip, the White House emphasized the need for the swift deployment of the Kenyan-led multinational force.
Meanwhile, gang activities have continued to wreak havoc in the country with the latest incident being a case where a US couple was among three missionaries killed in Haiti on Friday.
Gangs in Haiti
Additionally, Gangs have taken over control in parts of Haiti, bringing violence and destruction to its besieged capital, Port-au-Prince.
Also Read: Ruto Reveals Details of Ruiru Company Set to Hire 5,000 Kenyans
Ruto told the BBC that these types of events are “exactly” why his country was preparing to send in its police force. “We shouldn’t be losing people. We shouldn’t be losing missionaries,” Ruto said.
“We are doing this to stop more people from losing their lives to gangs,” he added.
President Ruto further added that a base where troops and equipment will be kept were being built in conjunction with the United States was 70% complete.
He also assured that there is a written agreement with Haiti transitional president council to ensure Kenya’s presence will be received as “peacemaking” force not an occupying force.
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