Ruto blasts ‘indefensible’ funding gaps for Haiti Mission, says lack of support ‘simply wrong’

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 22 – President William Ruto has criticized the international community for failing to honor pledges made to Haiti’s security mission, warning that the gap between promises and delivery has left the Kenyan-led force operating at only 40 per cent capacity.Speaking at a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Ruto described the inaction as “unacceptable,” cautioning that fragile gains against gang violence risk being reversed unless urgent, decisive measures are taken.“The situation in Haiti today is indefensible and simply wrong,” Ruto said. “If we don’t correct the mistakes of the past, we will most unlikely succeed.”He lamented that the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission had been undermined by chronic shortfalls in international backing—citing the failure to deploy the initially promised 2,500 security personnel, inadequate armored vehicles and logistical support, and unreliable equipment.While commending the United States for providing vehicles, Ruto noted that most were secondhand and frequently broke down, exposing officers to serious risks.“They stepped up, but many vehicles broke down in dangerous places, putting our personnel in great danger,” he said, adding that plans to establish forward operating bases to hold gang-cleared territory stalled due to lack of logistics.“We didn’t however get any useful support from any other quarter,” Ruto said. “I must be as candid as I can on this matter because I believe the situation in Haiti can be solved. It is not mission impossible.”989 personnel Kenya deployed its first contingent of 200 police officers to Port-au-Prince in June 2025, later joined by personnel from Guatemala, El Salvador, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Canada. The mission now totals 989 officers—735 of them Kenyan.Turning to the proposed UN resolution that would transform the MSS into a more robust Gang Suppression Force (GSF), Ruto stressed that the successor mission must be backed by predictable resources, reliable logistics, and a clear mandate.“If we are sending an additional security team to Haiti, the mandate must be clear. Number one, we must be very clear on what it is supposed to achieve. Number two, we must have a predictable resource package,” he said.The UN Security Council is set to vote in the coming days on the resolution, co-sponsored by the US and Panama, that would authorize a Chapter VII GSF with more than 5,500 personnel.US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who also addressed the meeting, agreed that the MSS lacks the mandate and resources to counter escalating gang violence. “The time for action is now,” he said, urging swift approval of the resolution before the MSS mandate expires on October 2. He emphasized that the proposal has the backing of Haiti’s transitional government and all 32 members of the Organization of American States.Ruto pledged that Kenya would remain engaged in Haiti and play its role in the transition to the GSF, but insisted that the international community must no longer fail the Haitian people.