President William Ruto of Kenya

Kenya’s President William Ruto says his peacekeeping police force is expected to arrive in Haiti in about three weeks to help quell growing gang violence.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Mr. Ruto confirmed that a planning team was already in Haiti and had met local police to secure arrangements before the Kenyan troops were deployed.

Mr. Ruto’s comments came as he concluded a three-day trip to Washington DC, the first official state visit of any African leader to the U.S. in over 15 years. During his visit, Ruto attended an official state dinner at the White House, the first for an African head of state in 15 years. House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked an address to Congress by Ruto because of scheduling problems.

During his trip, the White House called for the swift deployment of the Kenyan-led multinational force after a US couple was named among three missionaries killed in Haiti on Friday.

“I have a team already in Haiti as I speak to you,” Mr. Ruto told the BBC on Friday. 

“That will give us a frame of what things look like on the ground, the capabilities that are available, the infrastructure that has been set up.” He added, “Once we have that assessment that we agreed with the Haitian police and the Haitian leadership, we are looking at the horizon of three weeks for us to be ready to deploy once everything on the ground is set.” 

Last year, Kenya offered to lead a UN-backed multinational security force to restore order to the Caribbean island.

Gangs have taken over much of Haiti, bringing violence and destruction to its besieged capital, Port-au-Prince, in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The gangs have released inmates from prison.

Mr. Ruto told the BBC that these types of events are “exactly” why his country was preparing to send in its police force. “We shouldn’t be losing people. We shouldn’t be losing missionaries,” he said.

“We are doing this to stop more people from losing their lives to gangs.” The U.S. is also a part of the multi-national coalition working with Kenya.

President Ruto also has appointed Maj Gen Fatuma Gaiti Ahmed as the first female commander of the Air Force. She is the first woman in Kenya’s history to head a branch of the military service.