Haiti Prime Minster Ariel Henry is facing an ouster, after he was challenged on Tuesday, February 6, by a rebel leader.
Henry, appointed by President Jovenel Moïse days before his assassination in 2021 signed a deal with President William Ruto for the deployment of Kenyan police officers to the troubled Caribbean state.
The Prime Minister was set to leave office on Wednesday after he promised to step down from the position.
Haiti, a country with no democratically elected president broke into a series of protests ahead of Henry’s resignation, as wrangles intensified in various regions of the Caribbean state.
A rebel leader, Guy Philippe, joined demonstrators on Tuesday by appearing on national television demanding the Prime Minister step down.
Philippe, released from a US prison in September 2023, led an uprising in 2004 that chased the then president Jean Bertrand.
The Prime Minister however, dismissed the Brigade for Security of Protected Area leader and ordered agents to disarm him.
“We’re telling the police and the army that we have zero problems with them whatsoever,” Fritzner Jean Pierre, commander of the brigade in Ouanaminthe stated.
“If they put themselves against us, however, what happens to them is their responsibility.”
President William Ruto and Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry in September 2023 witnessed the signing of an agreement at the Kenyan Mission in New York, United States, to facilitate cooperation between the two countries.
“As the leading nation in the UN-backed security mission in Haiti, we are committed to deploying a specialized team to comprehensively assess the situation and formulate actionable strategies that will lead to long-term solutions,” Ruto promised.
The U.N. Security Council backed the plan, however, the High Court in a ruling halted the decision, terming it unconstitutional.
Director General of the Haitian National Police, Mr. Frantz Elbe on December 13, 2023 During a courtesy call with Inspector General National Police Service, IG Japhet Koome, at NPS Headquarters in Nairobi.
