Kenyan officials visit Haiti as the deployment of the first MSS contingent looms

PORT-AU-PRINCE— A delegation of about 50 Kenyans arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, marking the official resumption of commercial flights at Toussaint Louverture International Airport after a suspension of over two months due to escalating gang violence. The delegation, which arrived on a Sunrise Airways flight from Miami, Florida, is in Haiti ahead of the deployment of the first troops of the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS), scheduled for the end of May.

According to the Miami Herald, the delegation, which includes the mission’s force commander, is in Haiti to assess and inspect the construction of the MSS base and airport. The Kenyan team’s task involves closely examining the mission’s preparations and meeting several key figures, including Maria Salvador, the head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).

During a press conference on Sunday, May 19, Korir Sing’oei, Kenya’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that the government is finalizing deployment preparations. “Deployment will happen in the next few days, next few weeks,” Sing’oei stated, adding that Kenya has long been preparing for the mission.

This team of Kenyan officials will facilitate the deployment of the first group of 200 elite police officers and support staff from the multinational mission against gang violence in Haiti.

The visit coincides with Kenyan President Williams Ruto’s arrival in the United States, where he is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on May 23. Their discussions will focus on the economy, prosperity, investment, democracy, civilian security and the deployment of the multinational force in Haiti.

According to Hussein Mahomed, spokesperson for the Kenyan president’s office, during his official visit, Ruto will also meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and hold discussions with the bipartisan Caucus in the U.S. House and Senate. He is expected to spend three days in the United States before returning to Kenya.

Ruto’s visit to the White House in Washington, D.C., coincides with the deployment of the first group of Kenyan police from 1000 officers pledged to the MSS. This move has been deemed “unconstitutional” and is currently being challenged in the Kenyan High Court of Justice.

On May 16, former presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot from the Third Alliance political party and other petitioners filed an appeal in court to denounce the government’s ongoing preparations for deploying Kenyan police officers outside their territory. The petitioners argue that the government is showing contempt for a judicial decision that blocked the deployment in January.

Despite the petitioners’ pending appeal, Kenyan media reported that the first contingent of officers left the East African nation on Saturday for the United States. They are expected to make a stopover before being deployed to the Haitian capital, where they will lead the MSS.

Meanwhile, in Haiti, neither the presidential council nor the Haitian national police have officially communicated any information on the deployment of the multinational force announced by the American and Kenyan authorities. However, the PNH’s director general, Frantz Elbé, has promised to work with the mission to bring security and peace to the country.

The post Kenyan officials visit Haiti as the deployment of the first MSS contingent looms appeared first on The Haitian Times.