Boost for Ruto as Trump set to support Kenya's mission in Haiti

US Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio has hinted that US President-elect Donald Trump will continue backing the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti led by Kenyan police forces once he takes office this coming week.

Following Trump's victory in the November elections, there has been uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Haiti mission that was supported by Joe Biden's administration.

Speaking during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio commended Kenya's efforts for leading the mission despite facing financial challenges.

He, however, indicated that restoring peace in Haiti would require assistance from foreign partners, indicating that the incoming administration would stay on course in supporting the mission. 

"There is no easy answer, the Kenyans are there and they deserve a lot of credit for being willing to take on that mission and in recent days missions from various countries have arrived. I don't think anyone has a master plan for how you fix that overnight," he said.

"You have to establish a baseline security and it's not going to come from a US military intervention. So, I would include foreign partners in the Western Hemisphere, who should be contributing to this effort to provide some level of stability and security in Haiti, so that you can explore the opportunities to have a transitional government that has legitimacy that can ultimately lead to the conduct of elections."

The Biden administration has been pushing for the MSS mission to be transformed into a formal United Nations peacekeeping mission to guarantee funding.

To date, the United States government has provided more than Ksh.77 billion for the mission despite facing stiff opposition from the Republican lawmakers in Parliament.

Currently, the mission has been receiving support from voluntary contributions but transitioning to a UN-peacekeeping mission means that all the 193 UN member states would be required to fund the process.

Kenya has since deployed over 400 police officers by mid-2024; short of the 1,000 target it promised.

Other nations such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica and Belize have also deployed troops to the Caribbean nation.