PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti 鈥� The president of Kenya visited Port-au-Prince on Saturday for his first tour of the base where an understaffed and ill-equipped contingent of nearly 400 of his country鈥檚 police officers are trying to bring peace to Haiti, nearly seven months after a gang uprising took thousands of lives and toppled the government.
At a news conference, the president, William Ruto, announced that he would be sending an additional 600 officers to Haiti in the coming months 鈥� 300 in October and 300 in November. Ruto鈥檚 visit to Haiti was timed to coincide with his trip to the U.N. General Assembly this coming week in New York; he said he planned to use his time at the General Assembly to urge more countries to commit resources to the effort to restore order.
Ruto鈥檚 visit to Haiti came against a bleak backdrop. The recent kidnapping of two Filipino sailors put a halt to cargo shipments to Haiti by sea, the capital鈥檚 downtown streets are still deserted, and even Haiti鈥檚 prime minister cannot use his own office, because it is in a gang-controlled area.
Ruto met Saturday with Haitian and Kenyan officials to discuss the progress his officers have made and the challenges they still face. Afterward, he was greeted by several dozen Kenyan officers. They lined up in a sweltering parking lot near the airport where they are based, where six mine-resistant military vehicles, some with their windshields pierced by gunfire, were parked.
He led the officers in both prayer and song and congratulated them on their courage.
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鈥淭his mission initially was met with skepticism, criticism and pessimism,鈥� he told the officers, adding that public opinion had come around.
鈥淵ou will do better when more equipment is made available,鈥� he said.
Later, at a news conference, Ruto acknowledged that the effort had been plagued by a shortage of equipment, tools and vehicles.
This is also the view of many experts, who say the mission to secure Haiti has faced numerous problems, including a lack of resources.
William O鈥橬eill, a top United Nations human rights expert, on Friday called the humanitarian crisis in Haiti 鈥渁n enduring agony鈥� and said gangs had moved to areas outside the capital.
People who live in the capital say the Kenyan officers, who arrived in late June, are rarely seen 鈥� an impression confirmed by recent drives around the city in search of them.
鈥淗is police are doing all they can with what they have,鈥� said O鈥橬eill, who concluded a visit to Port-au-Prince on Saturday. 鈥淏ut what they have is not adequate to the task. They need helicopters, night vision goggles, drones and more reliable armed vehicles. They also need reinforcements from other countries, especially those that have promised to contribute to the effort.鈥�
Last October, amid an increase in gang violence, the U.N. Security Council authorized the operation, known as the Multinational Security Support Mission, or MSS. The United States and Canada are the main financial contributors to the effort, with the Biden administration pledging more than $300 million to finance it. Jamaica has sent a small contingent, but Haitian officials have been disappointed in the lack of international support.
The security situation worsened this year when several rival gangs united to attack government offices, hospitals, police stations, prisons and some entire neighborhoods. Ariel Henry, prime minister at the time, was unable to return to Haiti from a visit to Kenya and was forced to resign this spring as the gangs demanded he step down and the airport remained closed for two months.
In the first five months of the year, more than 3,000 people were killed, according to the United Nations.
The airport reopened in May, and while gangs largely retreated from some Port-au-Prince neighborhoods, they have gained control in other cities and continue kidnapping people and charging extortion for travel on major highways.
Hundreds of thousands of Haitians forced out of their homes by the gangs are living in school buildings and other public places. Not even a third of the medical services are operating at capacity, O鈥橬eill said.
Romain Le Cour, a senior expert at the Global Initiative, a research organization in Geneva, said the effort had been complicated by tensions between the overseas force and the Haiti National Police, and by a lack of coordination and equipment.
鈥淚t is urgent for the MSS to match rhetoric with reality,鈥� Le Cour said Saturday while visiting the capital. 鈥淪o far, the people of Port-au-Prince are seeing no tangible change on the ground linked to the force鈥檚 presence.鈥�
To succeed, it needs 鈥渞eal strategic, operational and financial direction,鈥� he said.
The State Department has said it plans to ask the United Nations to extend the mission鈥檚 mandate.
Ruto came to Haiti amid troubles of his own.
Plagued by protests in Kenya demanding his resignation, he recently struck a deal to name opposition party members to his Cabinet in an effort to quell calls for his ouster.
Protests took place at universities and schools, and the main international airport was shut down for a day this month as aviation workers protested what they called a secretive deal to renovate the airport by an Indian conglomerate.
Asked by The New York Times what he had said to his officers in Swahili, when he could be heard mentioning the notorious Haitian gang leader Jimmy 鈥淏arbecue鈥� Ch茅rizier, Ruto smiled and said: 鈥淚 told them to capture him.鈥�
This article originally appeared in . 漏 2024 The New York Times
