Ruto stands firm on Haiti mission amidst North Rift banditry crisis

President William Ruto has once again defended Kenya's commitment to deploy 1,000 police officers to Port-au-Prince as part of the U.N. Security Council-backed security mission to troubled Haiti.

Addressing the press alongside U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington D.C. on Thursday, Ruto was pressed to explain Kenya's decision to dispatch the officers to Haiti, a distance of 12,078 kilometres from Kenya, amidst ongoing banditry attacks in the North Rift region.

"Explain the geo-political goal; Haiti is roughly 12,000 kilometres away from Nairobi. A lot of schools in the North Rift counties remain closed because of banditry so why are you committing our national police force to Haiti?" Citizen TV's Ayub Abdikadir posed.

"Where is your priority given that security is a pillar under your manifesto? Isn't it ironical that you want to put a fire out in Haiti when our own home is burning?"

In response, Ruto highlighted that despite dispatching troops to Haiti, Kenya has remained steadfast in addressing the issue of banditry back home, adding that the government has deployed 3,000 military personnel and 2,000 police officers to the North Rift to combat and eliminate the banditry menace.

"I made a commitment to the people of Kenya to sort out insecurity in the North Rift. I have followed that with action. As we speak there are 3,000 military officers and 2,000 police officers in the North Rift," said Ruto.  

"We have also renovated 15 schools and reopened 20 schools that were closed. The exercise is still ongoing."

Ruto subsequently emphasised Kenya's role in enhancing security within its borders while affirming the country's broader responsibility to do the same beyond its borders.

"We have made tremendous progress in making sure that we create security at home but that does not take away our responsibility. Even as we deployed troops and police to sort out the banditry problem we still deployed 1,000 troops to DRC Congo because that is our neighbour," he said.

"We have deployed 5,000 troops in Somalia because that is equally our responsibility and Haiti should not be an exception. Deploying 1,000 troops to Haiti speaks of the same belief and commitment."

Approximately 200 Kenyan police officers were deployed to Haiti this week as part of the UN mission to Port-au-Prince.

This comes after Kenya, in July 2023, volunteered to lead the mission and deploy 1,000 troops to restore order to the troubled Caribbean nation overrun by marauding criminal gangs.

The officers, drawn from the elite Recce squad, Rapid Deployment Force and Special Operation Group, touched down in Port-au-Prince around May 23 or 24, to align with President Ruto's official visit to the United States.

Around half of the platoon, operating from a barrack recently established by the US government, have been tasked with securing critical infrastructure in Port-au-Prince while the rest will engage the criminal gangs in close-quarter combat.