President William Ruto now says that among the reasons behind his decision to send police officers to Haiti is because Haitians are almost African.
The Kenya Kwanza government is set to send about 1,000 police officers to Haiti, to help the Haitian government in dealing with gangs in the country.
Ruto on Saturday said that by helping Haiti, he is helping fellow Africans, even as some groups question the plan locally.
He made the remarks at the Nairobi State House, while thanking Angolan counterpart João Lourenço for supporting Kenya on the issue.
He thanked Angola for rallying behind Kenya in its multinational security support (MSS) to Haiti aimed at stabilizing the nation âwhose citizens are Africans like usâ.
ï»żHe offered to support Lourenço in his bid for the chairperson of the continental bloc-African Union.
âI promise you Mr President that you have Kenyaâs support as you seek the chairmanship for the AU for the year 2025-26,â he said.
âI have confidence in your capabilities, that you will bring a wealth of knowledge and understanding and experience to the leadership of our continent that I and you share in building its ability and unity.”
But the Haiti plan is facing opposition locally, with its critics led by the opposition, which has wondered what Kenyan police are going to do there.
The Azimio La Umoja coalition has wondered why Kenya, which has nothing to gain by supporting Haiti, is the one sending help and not the countries sarrounding the carribbean country.
It has also cited issues like language barrier, considering that Kenyans speak English yet Haitians largely speak the Haitian Creole.
“America is just the doorstep, why haven’t they gone? They were there before, why did they leave?” Azimio leader Raila Odinga said earlier in the month.
By CSWmedia