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Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has revealed that Kenya is ready to offer help to the Caribbean island nation of Haiti which has been in turmoil since 2021.

Mutua said that Kenya was ready to send police officers to assist in stabilizing Haiti following gang violence that has left the Caribbean island nation in turmoil.

Mutua revealed that the decision was arrived at after he held discussions with his counterpart from Canada.

“Further, we reviewed Haiti’s situation where gangs have made towns & peoples’ lives unbearable. In this regard, 🇰🇪 has offered to send police officers to assist in stabilizing the country. 🇨🇦 is one of the nations at the forefront in supporting Haiti’s process towards stability,” Mutua tweeted.

Further, we reviewed Haiti’s situation where gangs have made towns & peoples’ lives unbearable. In this regard, 🇰🇪 has offered to send police officers to assist in stabilizing the country. 🇨🇦 is one of the nations at the forefront in supporting Haiti’s process towards stability.

— Dr. Alfred N. Mutua (@DrAlfredMutua) April 22, 2023

Haitian gangs

The Caribbean country has been in turmoil since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, in 2021 at the hands of Colombian mercenaries with unknown paymasters.

Haiti has not held functional elections since 2019 and the country has been in a fragile state since the 2010 earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people. But Moïse’s death in July 2021 and a new earthquake the following month sent the situation spiralling out of control.

Moïse was replaced by an acting president, Ariel Henry, who is unelected and widely viewed as illegitimate. In September, the G9 gang coalition blockaded the main port and fuel terminal after Henry caused fuel prices to double when he announced a cut to fuel subsidies – a development that brought the crisis to new heights.

The present gangs are primarily affiliated with two groups, G-Pep and G9, which fight for control of the capital Port-au-Prince. An estimated 60 per cent of the capital is under the control of these groups, which terrorize civilians not only with threats of murder, but also abduction for ransom, extortion, and sexual violence, often at random.

Clashes between gangs are becoming more violent and more frequent, as they try to expand their territorial control throughout the capital and other regions by targeting people living in areas controlled by rivals.

Since the beginning of 2023, up to March 15, a total of 531 people were killed, 300 injured and 277 kidnapped in gang-related incidents that took place mainly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, according to information gathered by the Human Rights Service of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti.

In the first two weeks of March alone, clashes among gangs left at least 208 killed, 164 injured and 101 kidnapped.

Most of the victims were killed or injured by snipers who were reportedly randomly shooting at people in their homes or on the streets.

Sexual violence is also used by gangs against women and girls to terrorize, subjugate and punish the population. Gang members frequently use sexual violence against abducted girls to pressure families to pay a ransom.

Students and teachers have been hit by stray bullets during gang confrontations and the kidnapping of parents and students in the vicinity of schools has surged, forcing many of them to close. Without the protective environment of schools, many children have been forcibly recruited by armed gangs.

People are fleeing to escape the daily danger. As of mid-March 2023, at least 160,000 people have been displaced and are in a precarious situation, staying with friends or relatives and having to share meagre resources. A quarter of those displaced live in makeshift settlements, with very limited access to basic services such as drinking water and sanitation.

Chronic instability and gang violence have contributed to surging prices and food insecurity. Half of the population does not have enough to eat, and in some areas, such as Cité Soleil, hunger has reached particularly alarming levels.

Additional reporting by United Nations Human Rights.