Haitian Prime Minister To Meet President Ruto In Kenya

The Haitian Prime Minister Gary Conille visited Kenya on Thursday and was scheduled to meet President William Ruto on Friday.

The agenda for the meeting includes the multinational security support mission, which has seen nearly 400 Kenyan police officers deployed to Haiti since June to assist in the fight against gang violence.

Speaking to journalists, Conille said he wanted to accelerate the multinational security task force by the UN that saw its mandate extended.

Haiti has been on the edge following recent deadly attacks that have been termed massacres in Pont-Sondé. 115 people have been confirmed dead with dozens still hospitalized.

During a visit to the Haitian capital last month, William Ruto promised to send 600 police officers by January. However, significant financial and logistical hurdles remain.

The mission’s budget is $600 million, but so far, only the U.S. has provided $380 million, with Canada and others contributing an additional $85 million.

This funding shortfall has led Washington and Ecuador to push for the mission’s transformation into a UN peacekeeping mission.

African news/Jide Johnson.