Kenyan citizens have expressed their support for the decision made by the government to suspend the proposed deployment of a contingent of approximately 1,000 police officers to Haiti in response to the unprecedented outbreak of violence within the Caribbean nation.
Last October, Kenya had committed to spearhead a United Nations-sanctioned international police force bound for Haiti. However, the highest judicial body in Kenya deemed this arrangement unconstitutional in January, citing a deficiency in reciprocal agreements governing such deployments between the two nations.
Lameck Ochieng, a resident of Nairobi, articulated his lack of surprise regarding the court’s ruling, stating, “Our children who were going to be killed outside (in Haiti) now are safe.”
Reflecting on the situation, a Kenyan citizen expressed a sentiment of anticipation regarding the judicial ruling, emphasizing, “But the outcome has not that much maybe scared me because we knew that it was something which was not going to be achieved.”
President William Ruto of Kenya disclosed that he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry bore witness to the signing of reciprocal agreements between Kenya and Haiti on March 1, facilitating the prospective deployment. However, a citizen named Rose Wanjiku voiced skepticism regarding the feasibility of such an endeavor, remarking, “Haiti has no government, it has no structure so it’s not advisable, you know. Let’s say like, if our government really cares for our people, they wouldn’t even consider doing that (deploying Kenyan Police to Haiti).”
The envisaged initiative entailed a multinational police force, endorsed by the United Nations and spearheaded by Kenyan officers, aimed at quelling the enduring scourge of gang violence in Haiti. Nonetheless, the eruption of violence intensified notably since Feb. 29, characterized by assailants torching police precincts, incapacitating major international airports, and besieging the nation’s two largest penitentiaries, resulting in the liberation of over 4,000 detainees.
