President William Ruto has told off those criticizing Kenya’s move to deploy its officers to Haiti.
In a statement on Tuesday, October 3, Ruto affirmed Kenya’s commitment to intervene in the gang violence grappling Haiti and expressed optimism that the 1,000 troops Kenya has offered to send to Haiti will succeed.
“We shall succeed in Haiti. We must not fail the people of Haiti,” the president said.
Ruto’s statement comes just a day after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approved the deployment of Kenya police to the Caribbean nation.
The 15-member UN Security Council voted to authorize a mission that would guard critical infrastructure such as airports, ports, schools, hospitals, and key traffic intersections in the Caribbean nation.
While welcoming the move, the Head of State said the approval signals an important consensus on addressing human dignity as a precursor to attaining global security.
“The situation in Haiti demands, as a matter of humanitarian consideration, moral responsibility, and fundamental justice, that actions be scaled up significantly to meet the demands of emergency relief, humanitarian aid, and support for livelihoods and major interventions in public health and environmental protection,” he said.
However, the Kenya National Civil Society has raised concerns over the deployment of Kenya’s security forces to Haiti, citing non-compliance with the requirements of the Constitution and the law.
“Notoriety of the Kenya Police Service for human rights violations, including their dubious reputation, including their dubious for extra-judicial and arbitrary executions, and corruption makes them the least qualified for any deployment to Haiti as peace-keepers,” the lobby group said in a statement to Newsroom on Tuesday, October 3.
