Deploying Kenyan troops to Haiti may cause more harm than good - Haki Africa

Kenyan rights group Haki Africa has expressed concern over the deployment of Kenyan troops to Haiti on a peacekeeping mission.

Kenya has offered 1,000 police officers to lead the security mission in combating gang violence that has rocked the Caribbean country’s capital Port-au-Prince for over a year. 

Addressing journalists in Nairobi on Thursday, Haki Africa raised questions over the safety of Kenyan officers, citing language barriers and a possible overwhelming by the gangs.

“We are apprehensive that the operation in Haiti may cause more harm than good. A Haitian problem requires a Haitian solution. More than just deployment needs to be done to ensure the safety of the troops being deployed,” the rights group said.

Haki said while the deployment of the troops has already been passed, there should be proper guidelines on how the mission will be executed to ensure the Kenyan officers are safe.

“The question of whether or not the police will go is a question that has already been answered because they are going. But what are they going to do the mandate should be clear. There is a lot that should be put into consideration geographically,” said the group.

“There are more than 200 gangs in Haiti you need to understand where they are the language they speak and all.”

The main languages used in the Caribbean country are French and Haitian Creole.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council approved the foreign security mission which has divided opinions locally even as President Ruto insists that the move is an affirmation of Pan-African commitment to the continent's unity together with the African Union's policy of solidarity with the African Diaspora.

In Haki’s view, even with the resolution, Kenya needs to apply the law and seek parliament's approval in sending the officers outside the country.

The group added that the budgetary allocation for the mission should also be put into consideration.

“The United States spent $400 million per day in Afghan the entire mission, in Haiti it has about $200 million; that is insufficient,” Haki said.

The government’s move has been criticised by local leaders and security experts over the language difference issue.

Some have also said that Haitian police are severely outgunned by the gangs and that the mission poses a great risk to Kenyan troops, while others have pointed out the need to tackle insecurity locally first.

Former Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua previously said the Kenyan troops are set to hit the ground in Port-au-Prince “in the coming months”, without specifying when.

Armed gangs have seized control of large tracks of Haiti’s land following intersecting public health, political and economic crises.

The Western Hemisphere's poorest country has been plunged into chaos since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 at his private residence in Port-au-Prince.

United Nations figures show that more than 2,400 people have died in violence there since the start of the year.

The mission brings together several countries among them Bahamas, Jamaica and Antigua.