President William Ruto has praised the achievements of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti under Kenya’s leadership, but sharply criticized the international community for failing to provide adequate resources to sustain the operation.
Speaking during a high-level side event at the United Nations in New York, Ruto said the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti has yielded visible results, including reclaiming key infrastructure from criminal gangs.
“When we first stepped into Haiti, the airport had been surrounded by gangs… today, the airport is operational with passenger and cargo flights. The presidential palace, which was under siege, is now secure. Schools, hospitals and ports that had been shut down are back to life,” Ruto said.
Kenya currently contributes 735 of the 989 personnel serving under the MSS mission, alongside smaller contingents from Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Canada.
However, Ruto lamented that the mission has been operating at only 40% capacity due to poor logistical backing and limited resources. He pointed out that while the UN had authorized 2,500 security personnel, fewer than half were deployed, leaving Kenyan officers overstretched.
He was especially critical of the quality of support provided.
“We must also have a predictable resource package, not what Kenya has gone through — a game of guesswork. The United States gave us vehicles, but unfortunately most of them were second-hand and broke down in hostile areas, putting our people in grave danger,” he said.
Ruto insisted that despite the challenges, the mission had proven that Haiti’s crisis can be resolved if the international community commits fully. He called on the UN Security Council to ensure a clear, well-resourced successor mission to prevent the gains made from slipping away.
“We will not walk away from Haiti in haste because we owe them a clear transition. If we do not transition properly, we may lose what we have achieved,” he warned.
