UN-backed Haiti mission faces new Kenyan roadblocks

NAIROBI — A planned U.N-backed security mission in Haiti led by Kenya is in jeopardy due to a new legal effort in the East African country to stop the deployment of 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean island.

Haiti has seen an escalation of gang violence in recent days. Multiple criminal organizations in Haiti last week unveiled a new coalition and declared plans to overthrow the government. They led a mass jailbreak that saw thousands of inmates freed. They also launched attacks on the country’s biggest airport, causing a state of emergency to be declared.

The deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti was declared illegal by the High Court in January. Ekuru Aukot, the politician and lawyer who led that case, told Semafor Africa he is working on a fresh challenge against a bilateral agreement signed by Kenyan President William Ruto and Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry last week. He questioned its legality and demanded that it be made public.

“For parties to enter into a bilateral agreement, they must have the capacity to do so,” Aukot argued. “PM Ariel Henry has no capacity. He is unelected and has never been vetted by Haiti’s parliament due to the situation there. International agreements must also be ratified by Kenya’s parliament, and this also hasn’t happened.”

President Ruto said last week Kenya was ‘ready to deploy’ its officers following the signing of the agreement, which was seen as a move to sidestep the court ruling blocking the deployment.

The new legal challenge is the latest obstacle that threatens Kenya’s push to lead the mission. Ruto has previously promised that Kenya will deploy its police officers to Haiti despite the courts declaring the plan unconstitutional. The ruling is one of several that have gone against the executive’s policy decisions in recent months, fueling Ruto’s feud with the judiciary.

Benin has offered to send 2,000 troops to support the planned mission. The offer was announced by U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Feb. 26.

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has not returned to the country since leaving last week to sign the agreement with Ruto. Henry was reported to be in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, amid growing concern on his whereabouts. The gangs have warned him not to set foot back in the country.

Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, leader of the Haiti gang alliance, has warned of a ‘civil war’ if Henry does not resign.

The number of people reported killed in Haiti amid a surge in conflict last year more than doubled to reach 4,789. The U.N. in February launched an urgent appeal for $674 million in humanitarian aid for Haitians affected by the ongoing conflict.

The United States on Wednesday urged Henry to “expedite” the violence-ravaged nation’s transition to a new governing structure and hold “free and fair” elections – but stopped short of calling for his resignation.

The 74-year-old former neurosurgeon has been the acting prime minister since the assassination of President Jovenel Möise in 2021.

The planned U.N-backed security mission has faced a series of significant hurdles that make it increasingly look like either a bad plan, or one that is just extremely difficult to implement.

Macollvie Neel, executive editor of the Haitian Times, said the more it dragged out, the more the planned deployment looked unlikely. She argued that the slow response by the international community “allowed these gangs to become so powerful that they can extort governance of the country.”

Observers are increasingly concerned that it might be time for the mission’s backers to consider a change of tack. The U.S in particular has been rallying support for the mission, and disclosed on Monday that the White House was working to “expedite” the deployment of the Kenya-led force. It refused to send its own troops, a possibility that was reportedly discussed following the latest escalation of gang violence.

The U.S. is providing $200 million to support the mission. Critics of the planned mission, such as Aukot, say it is this financial incentive that has Ruto determined to push the deployment through despite a court ruling blocking it.

“Money is definitely a factor,” he argued. “The U.S. does not represent the Republic of Kenya.”

Haiti shares strong cultural and historical ties with Benin dating back to the Transatlantic slave trade and the Dahomey empire which included the modern day West African country. Many in Haiti are believed to have ancestral roots in Benin. These connections have been cited by some in Benin as a reason to support the deployment of their officers. Among them is Joèl Atayi-Guèdègbé, a civil society actor and governance expert.

“In the context of solidarity and the establishment of an intervention and training unit being set up in Haiti, I imagine that Benin could have been called upon in view of its expertise, in view of its historical links with Haiti,” he told Deutsche Welle.