Kenya's plan to send 1,000 police officers on a security mission to troubled Haiti has drawn criticism from former U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti Dan Foote, who noted that the number of troops is insufficient to free the Caribbean nation from marauding gangs.
In a CNN interview, Foote noted that at least 20,000 soldiers have been sent to Port-au-Prince on each occasion when there has been a military intervention in Haiti, but none of these missions has been successful.
"A thousand isn't going to cut it and while they have commitments for double or triple that, that's still not going to cut it. Every time there has been a military intervention in Haiti in the past 20 years, it's had a minimum of 20,000 troops or police going in there," Foote said.
Foote drew attention to Kenyans' apparent unwillingness to support the mission to Haiti.
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"You see the reticence on the part of the Kenyan public to send these guys and that makes me nervous," he said.
The former envoy further stated that rather than genuine peacekeeping efforts, Kenya's drive to spearhead the security mission is primarily driven by financial incentives from the U.N. Security Council.
"I believe that this is more of a cash grab by President Ruto whose country will receive a lot of money for doing this," he stated.
To encourage other countries to contribute similarly, the U.S. government first promised $100 million (Ksh.13 billion) to support the multinational force led by Kenya in restoring security to Haiti.
Foote went on to warn that if the proposed Caricom government is implemented in the Caribbean country, the well-armed Haitian gangs would fight back violently against Kenyan troops.
"The Haitians are well armed and if the international community imposes this Caricom government contract, they are going to fight the Kenyans to the death," he stated.
A sharp increase in gang violence has led to a humanitarian crisis that Haiti is currently dealing with.
Kenya declared last week that the UN-backed multinational mission to send police to Haiti has been postponed.
Speaking to AFP, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing'oei stated that the decision was made following the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti due to the country's widespread armed gang takeover.
"There has been a fundamental change in circumstances as a result of the complete breakdown of law and order and the subsequent resignation of the PM of Haiti," Korir Sing'oei, principal secretary for foreign affairs, told AFP.
Sing'oei, however, said that Kenya remained committed to "providing leadership to the MSS," referring to the Multinational Security Support mission approved by the U.N. Security Council in October last year.
However, President William Ruto is unwavering in supporting Kenya's government's decision to send a team to Haiti.
