Ruto: Germany to support Kenya's Haiti mission

Kenya’s bid to deploy police officers to Haiti continued to receive backing on Monday with Germany pledging its support.

The country did not, however, reveal the kind of support it will offer Kenya ahead of the planned deployment which has already been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

President William Ruto made the disclosure after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on the sidelines of the “G20 Compact with Africa”.

“Held talks with Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz who pledged to support of Kenya's mission to Haiti and peace in the Horn of Africa,” Ruto said on his X platform.

Parliament last week approved the plan to send the officers to help stop the gang violence.

About 300 gangs are active across Haiti and 80 per cent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, is under gang control.

Lawmakers gave the plan a nod despite a court order barring any deployment, pending the outcome of a legal challenge to the plan.

“The committees having reviewed Kenya’s obligations to the UN, its existing legal framework, submissions through public participation and submissions by stakeholders recommends that Parliament approves the proposed deployment of the National Police Service to the Multinational Security Support Mission for Haiti under the provisions of the Constitution,” the joint team recommended.

Ruto is in German for the high-level conference which brings together German and African representatives from the business community and the world of politics.

Top on the agenda is strengthening private investment and cooperation in the field of sustainable energy supply.

The leaders will also discuss how to intensify their mutual economic relations as well as concrete joint projects.

Germany launched the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) during its G20 Presidency in 2017.

G20 works closely in the CwA with reform-oriented African partners on shared goal-improving economic conditions in the CwA countries so that more foreign (private) investment flows into these countries. 

CwA countries are supported in this by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Ruto at the same time emphasized that the two countries share strong historic ties and considerable interests especially in trade, investment, environmental conservation and industrial promotion.

“We will build on these relations to benefit our people,” he said.