by RASNA WARAH
Kenya should help Haiti, but sending police officers there to quell violence that has its roots in a painful history of imperialism is not the way to go.
On 18 May, an NGO called MUDJJ (Movement Unforgettable Dessalines Jean-Jacques) wrote a letter to Dr Ekuru Aukot, founder of the Thirdway Alliance party, thanking him for defending the rights of the Haitian people. Dr Aukot had legally challenged the decision by President William Ruto to send 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti to deal with gangs harassing and murdering civilians there. A High Court ruled in January that this decision?–?which has the support of US President Joe Biden?–?was “unconstitutional, illegal and invalid”. Biden has promised US$100,000 to help Kenya lead the Multinational Security Support Mission for Haiti.
Part of the problem with this deal is that one of the parties involved?–?the now exiled Prime Minister Henry Ariel?–?was not democratically elected and so had no authority to sign any deal with any government; President Ruto had essentially made a deal with an illegitimate government. Nor has he made a deal with the transitional government now in place, which most Haitians also consider illegitimate.
Ariel was illegally appointed as prime minister after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021. Moïse had extended his term without holding an election. In the letter to Dr Aukot, MUDJJ argued that the deal was not only unconstitutional but was also “misaligned with the interests of the Haitian people”. It also stated that “the actions of President William Ruto, which appear to align more with external influences than with the principle of African solidarity and self-determination, are particularly troubling”.
As with all court orders that challenge his decisions, President Ruto has decided to ignore the court’s ruling and go ahead with sending an advance team of 200 police officers to Haiti to lead a mission that supposedly will deal with the gangs that are making life difficult for Haitians. But no Haitian and no legitimate Haitian government asked for this help. And even though the United Nations Security Council authorised the deployment of a stabilisation mission for Haiti headed by Kenya, the details of the deal remain secret, which in itself is problematic.
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