President William Ruto has reaffirmed that Kenya has no plans to withdraw its police officers from the Multi-National Security Support Mission in Haiti.
Despite growing calls from Kenyans urging the government to bring the officers back home, the Head of State insisted that they will continue serving in the mission. Concerns escalated after reports emerged that another Kenyan officer had been killed by a notorious gang operating in the conflict-ridden Caribbean nation.
The officer, whose identity remains undisclosed, was shot dead by gang members on Tuesday, March 25, during an operation in the Lower Artibonite region, which is located 92 kilometres north of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.
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Kenyan Police Spokesperson in Haiti, Jack Ombaka, has confirmed the reports adding the gang members took away the deceased's body, which is currently in their custody despite attempts by the peacekeepers to retrieve it.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ruto said he had a discussion about the situation in Haiti with the United States Secretary of the State Marco Rubio through a phone conversation.
"He reaffirmed the strong US support for the Kenya-led effort to stabilise Haiti. In this regard, I welcome his support for the effort to secure sustainable UN support for the Multi-National Security Support Mission," the Head of State said.
Ruto said the US also thanked Kenya for the leadership role it is playing in the search for peace and resolution of conflicts in the region particularly in South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia.
"I briefed him on the Joint Summit of Heads of State of the EAC-SADC on the DRC peace initiative, held on Monday; on Kenya's role in providing forum for the engagement of diverse Sudanese actors to engage in an effort to restore civilian governance, and also our efforts with other partners including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in engaging the combatants on the need for dialogue and silencing the guns," Ruto said.
