Kenya is stopping its preparations to send at least a thousand police officers to Haiti in response to the country’s extraordinary outbreak of violence and Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s announcement that he would step down once a presidential council was established, an official from Kenya said on Tuesday.
A U.N.-authorized international police force was to be led by Kenya to Haiti in October of last year, but the country’s top court said in January that this was unconstitutional due in part to the absence of reciprocal agreements between the two nations on such deployments.
The deployment was made possible by the reciprocal agreements that Kenya and Haiti signed on March 1, according to Kenyan President William Ruto and Henry.
The multi-national police, sponsored by the United Nations and headed by Kenyan officers, was supposed to assist in reducing the gang violence that has long afflicted Haiti. But, since February 29, there has been a sudden increase in violence as gunmen have set fire to police stations, closed the major international airports, raided the nation’s two largest prisons, and freed over 4,000 prisoners.
Many people have lost their lives and over 15,000 have been left homeless as gangs stormed their neighborhoods. The capital city of Port-au-main Prince’s port is still closed, leaving scores of containers full of vital goods stranded as food and water supplies are running low.
Henry was shut out of his own nation after returning from a trip to Kenya, where he had gone to rescue plans for the African nation’s deployment. He has since stayed in Puerto Rico.
The intended deployment of police officers has been postponed, as stated by Koriri Sing’oei, principal secretary for foreign affairs in Kenya, on Tuesday.
“The total breakdown of law and order has resulted in a fundamental change in circumstances in Haiti,” Sing’oei continued.
In response to pressure from abroad, Henry announced on Tuesday that he will step down as soon as a transitional presidential council was established, paving the way for new leadership in a nation overrun by deadly gangs.
Henry’s remarks came following a meeting in Jamaica between Caribbean leaders and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to explore a way out of Haiti’s dire situation.
In a taped remark, Henry declared, “The government I’m leading will dissolve itself immediately after the council is installed.”
Sing’oei stated that there would be no basis for an international police force in Haiti if there was no established government in existence. Hence, before deciding how to proceed with its deployment, the Kenyan government will wait for the establishment of a new administration in Haiti.
Kenyan Interior Minister Kindiki Kithure announced on Monday that their officers who had been chosen to deploy to Haiti were prepared and awaited deployment following the fulfillment of the top court’s demands on bilateral agreements.
Opponents of Henry, who took office as prime minister over two weeks after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021, claim he was never chosen by the populace or Parliament, which ceased to exist when the tenure of the last senators ran out in January 2023.
Moreover, it has left Haiti without
(AP)
