Trump supports Kenya’s mission in Haiti-Ruto

US President Donald Trump supports Kenya’s security mission in Haiti according to President Wiliam Ruto.
While addressing worshippers at the Global Cathedral in Nairobi today, Ruto said he felt relieved and happy that Trump’s administration is pleased with Kenya’s work in the Caribbean nation, a mission that was initiated during the immediate former US President Joe Biden.
In a phone call last year, Ruto revealed in his address, Biden asked Kenya to provide the lead in the Haiti peace mission, which is known as the Multinational Security Support (MSS).
He said; “I was requested by the president of the United States last year to provide Kenya’s security diplomacy that is also legendary and known to support Haiti. I am very proud that even President Trump with the new administration supports Kenya’s mission in Haiti to help men, women and children of that nation.”
Ruto’s sentiments come in the wake of heightened anxiety in the country that with Trump assuming power for the second time could spell doom to Kenya’s plans, especially those initiated during Biden’s administration.
However, the president allayed those fears, saying there exists some special friendship between Kenya and the US.”The United States is a blessing to our nation and we work together in many aspects,” said Ruto.
In October 2024, Ruto appealed for urgent financial support from the international community to sustain the police deployment in Haiti. “We are asking the international community to match their commitment and their pledges with the necessary action for us to be able to complete the task ahead of us,” Ruto said after a meeting in Nairobi with the then Acting Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille.
With the Trump’s return to the Oval office, there have been worries that the US could pull out funding for the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti.
The third contingent of 217 Kenyan police officers to the MSS landed in Haiti capital Port-au-Prince last week, with the National Police Service disclosing that the next batch 400 officers would also join the mission in Haiti soon.
Kenya’s first contingent of 400 elite police officers landed in Port-au-Prince’s international airport after months of delay on June 25, 2024. A second contingent consisting of 200 officers arrived on July 16. More than 600 Kenyan police officers are already in Haiti for the peace-keeping mission.
The mission in Haiti is an international police and military force approved by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on October 2, 2023, to assist the government of Haiti in restoring law and order amid worsening civil strife and gang violence since 2018.
It is led by Kenya and coordinated with the Haitian National Police, though backed by the UNSC, it is not a United Nations operation.Personnel have been pledged by Caribbean Community members Jamaica, Bahamas, Guyana, Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda, as well as Bangladesh, Benin, and Chad.
According to the UN, more than 3,600 people have been killed in Haiti since January 2024, including over 100 children, while more than 500,000 Haitians have been forced from their homes.