President William Ruto announces date for sending 2,500 Kenyan troops to Haiti

President William Ruto assured the international community on Thursday that Kenya will not give up the fight against criminal gangs in Haiti.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, the president revealed that he had promised that Kenya would deploy police officers as part of the 2,500 Multinational Security Support (MSS) Officers Required in the Caribbean would be delivered before January 2025.

“I must stress that Kenya will deploy the additional contingent to achieve the target of all 2,500 police officers by January next year. The progress so far in Haiti shows that what was once considered impossible is indeed a present and distinct possibility,” he said.

In his speech, Ruto subtly criticized countries with superior security services for not providing sufficient support to the mission in Haiti.

He stressed the difficult situation in which Kenya and other countries have fully committed themselves to the mission for Haiti and called on more powerful countries to offer their assistance, directly or indirectly.

“Kenya and other countries in the Caribbean and Africa are ready to deploy, but are hampered by insufficient equipment, logistics and financing,” the head of state said.

Ruto added: “I call on all Member States to show solidarity with the people of Haiti by providing the necessary support, either directly to the countries contributing to the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) or through the UN Trust Fund.”

So far, countries including Canada and the US have offered financial support to the mission, with the latter pledging KSh21 billion (USD160 million). This brought the total amount of US aid to the Caribbean country to KSh168 billion (USD1.3 billion) since 2021.

Haiti is plagued by organized criminal gangs, who control more than 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince and major roads in the country.

The violence has killed at least 2,500 people and displaced hundreds of thousands in the first three months alone.

On Wednesday, Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Garry Conille dashed hopes of securing the capital, saying they were “nowhere near victory,” citing the ongoing war against gangs.

According to Conille, it was virtually impossible to secure Port-au-Prince without help from outside powers.

The arrival of 400 Kenyan police officers in Haiti in May 2024 had a domino effect, as other countries, including the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad, Jamaica and Suriname, also pledged to send soldiers to the mission.