President William Ruto boarding a plane. Photo/courtesy.
On Saturday, Ruto landed in Haiti ahead of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
This came 100 days after Kenya deployed its police officers to Haiti as part of a United Nations Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) which aims to help restore peace in Haiti.
During his trip, Ruto praised the Kenyan contingent’s in their success recent operations, which included capturing of Port-au-Prince and the arrest of two prominent gang leaders.
While addressing challenges faced in the mission, with the major one being funding and equipment, Ruto congratulated the Kenyan officers for their dedication and success in fighting gangs in Haiti. He also prayed for peace in Haiti. This prayer was part of his larger address to the Kenyan police contingent and the Haitian government, emphasizing his full commitment to peace and security in the country.
In his speech, he primarily focused on the success of the Kenyan police claiming the country’s security has really improved. However, this is in contrary to what the UN official said after the recent visit in Haiti.
He also hints of the possibility of transitioning the MSS mission into a full United Nations peacekeeping operation, stating that Kenya will fully support this move if the UN Security Council decides to go in that direction.
This move could address some of the financial and logistical problems facing the mission which are critical to its success.
From there he is expected to attend the UN conference where the major issue of discussions will likely be about the Kenya’s peacekeeping mission, which is set to expire in October 2024 but is anticipated to be renewed by the UN Security Council.
