President William Ruto is expected to make a stopover in Haiti to personally interact with Kenyan police officers deployed there as part of a UN-backed mission to restore peace in the gang-ridden country.
The head of state left Kenya on Friday night to attend the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. But a provisional itinerary made available to the media also showed that he was expected to make a detour to Haiti on Saturday to learn about the experiences of the police force before heading to the UN meeting.
Speaking to the Nation , Godfrey Otunge, the commander of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, said they were ready to receive the president at any time on Saturday, which would be the first time the president has travelled to the Caribbean since taking office in 2022. The trip to Porto-Au-Prince is significant because part of his agenda in New York, according to a dispatch, will be to discuss the welfare of the MSS, whose mandate expires next month but is expected to be renewed by the UN Security Council for another year.
“The Head of State is jetting in to have word with the officers who are in high spirits and out to ensure that peace is restored here in Haiti,” he said.
In a statement, the communication team of Haiti’s Presidential Transitional Council said, “The visit is part of strengthening of bilateral relations between the Republic of Haiti and Kenya, with a particular emphasis on cooperation in matters of security and development.”
It also said that Mr Edgard Le-Blanc Fils, who heads a Presidential Transition Council in Haiti that has approved the deployment of Kenyan officers in Haiti, would discuss "issues of international interest" with Dr Ruto.
The Haiti detour comes barely a week after the Kenyan officers, together with their counterparts from the Haitian National Police, arrested two gang leaders .
The two gang leaders, members of the Chen Mechan and Pierre 6 gangs, are currently in police custody and are being questioned about how the gangs operate in the Caribbean-based country.
“The last three weeks have seen sustained targeted joint security operations being conducted by MSS personnel and HNP. The joint security operations saw the destruction and removal of several barricades that enabled the clearance of roads that gangs had blocked,” he said.
The operations targeted areas controlled by gangs, including the Port-Au-Prince downtown, Ganthler, Delmas, APN Port, Crole des Bouquets and Tahare Carrefour areas.
During the operation, a double wall was erected by the 400 Mawazo gang on National Road 88 in Croix-Des-Bouquets, a commune in the Ouest Department of Haiti.
Mr Otunge said the destruction of the wall had allowed the free flow of vehicles and the local population.
In addition to the arrests, police also recovered some weapons from the gangs.
“Some of the key areas that the joint operations have been able to recapture and maintain dominance patrols include various streets in Delmas that include number, 33, 31, 24, 27, 20, 18, 15, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 that were completely gang dominated prior to the operations where both vehicular and human traffic had been cut off with locals deserting these areas. Businesses had also shut down,” he said.
They include L’avenue Hallé Sélastié le Boulevard Toussaint Louverture (Route de l'Aéroport), l'Avenue Henri Christophe, la Rue Capols, l'Avenue Christophe, l'Avenue Lamartinière (Bois Vernoj, and Rue de la Réunion.[email protected]
