Kenya has suspended plans for sending police to violence-wracked Haiti under a UN-backed multinational mission, a top government official announced on Tuesday.
Korir Sing’oei, the principal secretary for foreign affairs, explained that the decision follows Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreeing to step aside as armed gangs have taken control of much of the Caribbean nation.
“There has been a fundamental change in circumstances as a result of the complete breakdown of law and order and the subsequent resignation of the PM of Haiti,” PS Korir told AFP.
He added: “Without a political administration in Haiti, there is no anchor on which a police deployment can rest, hence government will await the installation of a new constitutional authority in Haiti, before taking further decisions on the matter.”
However, the PS stated that Kenya remains committed to providing leadership to the Multinational Security Support mission approved by the UN Security Council in October last year.
This comes after Kenya’s Interior Minister, Prof Kithure Kindiki, on Monday said the government had resolved a “small court matter” that had halted the deployment.
“There was a small court matter but it has been resolved. We are now in the pre-deployment stage all the other programs are in place,” he said.
Kindiki mentioned that the governments of Kenya and Haiti had signed a bilateral accord, clearing the path for the deployment.
However, three days after Haiti’s prime minister Ariel Henry, had signed the deal with President William Ruto, his whereabouts were unknown. It later emerged that his plane was forced to land in the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico when it was denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Ariel Henry subsequently announced his resignation a week later, leaving the MSS mission in limbo.
