Faith Nyasuguta
Kenyan special forces, experienced in combating al-Shabaab fighters in East Africa, are set to arrive in Haiti in a few days. This deployment comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns that the Caribbean nation is “on the precipice of becoming an all-out failed state.”
An advance team of Kenyan officers, part of a UN-backed “multinational security support mission” aimed at stabilizing Haiti after months of chaos, landed in Port-au-Prince late Monday. The city’s airport reopened nearly three months after a gang uprising had forced its closure.
Kenyan media reports indicate that an additional 200 officers are expected to arrive this week, coinciding with President William Ruto’s state visit to the US. Overall, about 1,000 Kenyan agents will join the mission, alongside officers from Chile, Jamaica, Grenada, Paraguay, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria, and Mauritius.
A senior official from Kenya’s interior ministry informed the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime that “the first boots [would] hit the ground” soon, emphasizing the seriousness of this mission.
Appearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Blinken highlighted an “opportunity now” to achieve lasting stability in Haiti after decades of turmoil. He cited the reopening of Haiti’s main international airport as a sign of progress and predicted that US carriers would resume flights there shortly.
The initial contingent of Kenyan officers will reportedly come from elite units such as the recce squad, the rapid deployment force, and a police special operations group, all experienced in fighting Islamist insurgents on Kenya’s eastern border with Somalia.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime noted that these officers are well-acquainted with violent armed actors. Some observers see this long-awaited deployment as a significant step toward peace in a nation that has plunged further into violence since the 2021 assassination of its president, Jovenel Moìse.
Blinken emphasized that US support for the multinational mission is vital for restoring order and diminishing gang power.
In a recent interview, William O’Neill, the UN’s top human rights expert in Haiti, expressed hope that many of the young gang members causing havoc in Port-au-Prince would back down once faced with a superior fighting force.
“A lot of them are teenagers. You’re talking about 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds – and there’s no ideology. It’s not like the Taliban or al-Shabaab,” O’Neill said.
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