Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille is scheduled to meet President William Ruto on Friday as part of his four-day official visit to Kenya. He will also engage with police commanders overseeing efforts to combat gangs in Haiti.
During his visit, Conille plans to tour a police training camp preparing paramilitary officers for deployment. He arrived in Kenya on October 10 amid escalating gang violence in Haiti.
Conille has stated that a key objective of his trip is to expedite the deployment of an additional 600 officers to reinforce the 400 already stationed in Port-au-Prince. “One of the aims of this trip is to discuss with President Ruto how we can quickly deploy the remaining Kenyan troops to continue supporting the national police force,” he noted before leaving Haiti. Additionally, he intends to confer with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates about securing regular assistance for the Haitian national police.
Two weeks ago, the U.N. Security Council authorized the extension of an international security force for another year to assist local police in combating gangs and restoring order. However, the mission has made limited progress, with only about 400 mainly Kenyan officers currently on the ground.
Haiti is in turmoil following a violent attack by the Gran Grif gang in Pont-Sonde on October 3, which left at least 115 people dead, including infants, and forced over 6,000 residents to flee their homes. The massacre shocked a nation accustomed to violence, as the national police force remains overwhelmed and understaffed.
Gunmen launched another attack on a town north of the capital, shooting at residents and setting homes ablaze, just a week after the massacre. The extent of the casualties from this latest assault is not yet known. Residents in Arcahaie have called radio stations pleading for assistance, urging police intervention.
Lionel Lazarre, deputy police spokesman, reported that officers are present and that measures are being taken to bolster their presence. “The police heard the people of Arcahaie calling for help,” he said.
Reports indicate that the attack was carried out by the Taliban gang, which has about 200 members and primarily operates in northern Port-au-Prince. Arcahaie is situated between the capital and Pont-Sondé, where the Gran Grif gang committed the previous massacre. Gang violence, predominantly centered in Port-au-Prince, has increasingly spread northward and into the central Artibonite region.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who is also the foreign affairs cabinet secretary, welcomed Conille at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Thursday. Mudavadi noted that Conille is expected to engage in high-level talks with President Ruto focused on enhancing security cooperation and fostering regional stability between Kenya and Haiti.
Kenyan police are currently in Haiti to help manage the gang violence. During President Ruto’s visit to Port-au-Prince on September 21, he expressed support for transitioning the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission into a full U.N. peacekeeping operation. “We have no objection to this becoming a fully U.N. peacekeeping mission if that is the direction the U.N. Security Council wishes to take,” Ruto stated.
However, the UN-authorized mission led by Kenya faces funding challenges, with member states having contributed $67 million of the pledged $84 million. Contributions have been made through the UN Trust Fund for the MSS, which aims to deploy up to 2,500 police personnel in phases at an annual cost of approximately $600 million.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently commended Kenya, Belize, and Jamaica for their contributions to restoring peace in Haiti.
