- Ruto landed in New York on Saturday at about 3 pm Kenyan time and was scheduled to take another flight to Miami and then connect to Port-au-Prince, officials said.
- He was expected to make a detour to Haiti on Saturday to learn about the experiences of the police troops before heading to the UN meeting.
Image: PCS
President William Ruto is expected to visit Port-au-Prince in Haiti to interact with Kenyan police officers deployed there for a UN-backed mission to fight criminal gangs there.
Ruto left the country on Friday for the UN General Assembly in New York.
He landed in New York on Saturday at about 3 pm Kenyan time and was scheduled to take another flight to Miami and then connect to Port-au-Prince, officials said.
He was expected to make a detour to Haiti on Saturday to learn about the experiences of the police troops before heading to the UN meeting.
He will later go on the ground to visit the 400 Kenyan troops who are part of the Multinational Security Support Mission deployed in the Caribbean nation.
Ruto's visit comes several months after Kenya deployed its officers to Haiti to lead a multinational contingent to aid the Haitian police.
It will be the first time the President has travelled to the Caribbean since he took power in 2022 and the police officers were deployed.
Officials said touring Porto-Au-Prince is significant because part of his agenda in New York, a dispatch showed, will be to discuss the welfare of the MSS, whose mandate expires next month but is expected to be renewed by the UN Security Council. For another year.
Haiti’s Presidential Transitional Council communication team said that the visit is part of strengthening the bilateral relationships between the two countries.
“The visit is part of the strengthening of bilateral relations between the Republic of Haiti and Kenya, with a particular emphasis on cooperation in matters of security and development,” a statement by the team read.
It added Edgard Le-Blanc Fils who is the head of a Presidential Transition Council in Haiti that gave a nod to the deployment of Kenyan officers in Haiti will discuss with the Head of State “issues of international interest.”
The communication team said that it would reveal more details of the visit in due time.
Ruto is expected to participate in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
This comes after the Kenyan officers alongside those attached to the Haiti National Police arrested two gang leaders.
The mission has been plagued by logistical problems and cost overruns, leading the United States to explore a new format for the mission at the United Nations.
The troops have managed to liberate several places in the capital city as operations go on.
Kenyan Police, jointly with Haitian officers undertook security patrols within the streets of Delmas last week, during which several gang members were arrested.
Among those cornered during the raid included two “Chen Mechan and Pierre 6” gang leaders.
There are currently 400 Kenyan police officers in Haiti tasked with helping the Haitian police take on gangs that have continued to force people out of their homes.
The Kenyans have been joined by troops from Jamaica and Belize.
The mission was first authorized by the Security Council in October 2023 for a year.
The first contingent of 200 Kenyans arrived in Port-au-Prince on June 25 and a second group on July 16.
Kenyan police are in Haiti to help the Caribbean nation stabilize from gangs.
A traditional U.N. peacekeeping operation would end the mission’s problems with funding, because it would be paid for through member nations’ traditionally assessed contributions.