President William Ruto received a frantic call on Saturday night from President Joe Biden’s administration over the deteriorating situation in Haiti.
A statement issued by the Department of State and published on its website revealed that the call was made by Secretary Antony Blinken who spoke about the ongoing political and security crisis in Haiti.
While the gangs continue to wreak havoc in the Caribbean nation, the two leaders agreed that it was imperative Kenya deploy 1,000 police officers in the troubled nation.
Additionally, the need for other countries to pledge deployment of their troops under a Multinational Security Support Mission was underscored.
Initially, the rules of engagement were that Kenyan police guard key government infrastructure including airports, hospitals and parliament.
With gangs already taking control of major buildings, Blinken stated that the Kenyan police would work in tandem with Haiti security forces in creating the security conditions necessary to conduct free and fair elections.
“Secretary Blinken also offered his appreciation for Kenya’s diplomatic work to support peace and security in the Horn of Africa,” the US stated.
Blinken’s call was made the same day that reports were made that the Haitian interior ministry headquarters were on fire.
It was also reported that the gangs were plotting to raze to the ground the nation’s Supreme Court.
While Biden’s administration is committed to funding Kenya’s mission in Haiti, this has been met with resistance from Republicans.
The United States government is awaiting support from Republican congressmen to approve the allocation of Ksh14 billion to finance the mission.
President Joe Biden made the pledge on September 23 to cover logistics, intelligence, communication and medical support for Kenyan troops.
