The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, is expected in Nairobi for a series of security related discussions.
Landau will meet top security officials in Nairobi to, among other things, discuss the country’s contribution of police to Haiti under the new Gang Suppression Force (GSF).
This is after it emerged Nairobi had not pledged any personnel under GSF following a standoff of leadership of the outfit.
Whereas more than a dozen countries had pledged to send personnel, mostly the military, to the GSF, Kenya has not made the promise ahead of the February deadline when the new team takes over from the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission.
This was due to a standoff over who should lead the GSF. Kenya’s stand has borne fruit.
This is after Landau said last week the US objective in Haiti remains “the establishment of baseline security and stability.”
However, with the mandate of the transitional authority due to expire on February 7, Washington told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that it opposes any changes to the authority’s composition.
This means Kenya will be left to continue leading the GSF. That could be the message Lindau is out to deliver to Kenya while on a trip of the country.
Washington has sent Landau to Nairobi for discussions on the way forward.
Kenya is central to Trump’s interests in Haiti, having deployed police officers under the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS), which is evolving into a new force in months.
He will among others, visit the National Police Service Campus in Embakasi, where the Kenyan team ready for deployment to Haiti is camping.
He will also visit other security installations for talks.
He said in a post he was excited to visit the continent.
“Very excited to be leaving tomorrow for my first trip to Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Looking forward to advancing Donald Trump’s priorities of developing commercial and economic ties and promoting security and peace. One of the great privileges of this job is to exchange views directly and frankly with world leaders—notwithstanding modern technology, there’s still no substitute for meeting someone in person and looking them in the eye. Jet lag, here I come!”
Landau arrived in Cairo, Egypt, on January 24 before proceeding to Ethiopia and will come to Kenya and Djibouti.
It will be his first trip to the Horn of Africa in this official capacity. Running from January 24 to February 1, the tour will combine security discussions, business engagements and a reinforcement of President Donald Trump’s policy priorities.
According to Tommy Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the State Department, Landau will promote “priorities of rebalancing trade, ensuring a positive business environment, and promoting security and peace.”
While in Nairobi, Deputy Secretary Landau will meet Kenyan officials to discuss commercial engagement, counterterrorism cooperation, Kenya’s contributions to security in Haiti, and broader regional issues, officials said.
In December 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States has received pledges of up to 7,500 security personnel for a gang suppression force in Haiti.
Kenya is not among the countries that have pledged their personnel meaning the current team of 700 police officers in Port-au-Prince will leave Haiti if not considered.
The U.N. Security Council agreed at the end of September 2025 to more than double the size of a 15-month-old, underfunded and understaffed international security mission combating armed gangs in Haiti and rename it a gang suppression force.
“We were looking for 5,500 forces. We already have pledges of up to 7,500 forces from a variety of countries. We’ve seen donors step up to fund that effort,” Rubio told reporters.
Gangs—largely armed with illicit weapons from the U.S.—have seized almost all of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in a conflict that has forced 1.3 million people from their homes, and fueled hunger.
The U.S. and Canada hosted a closed-door pledging conference for the gang suppression force at the United Nations on December 9, 2025.
They said in a statement that 18 entities had pledged personnel, resources and technical support.
The initial Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission deployed in Haiti in June 2024 but has struggled to make headway in curbing violent armed gangs – some of which Washington has designated as terrorist organizations.
On December 4, Rubio praised the role the Kenyan team has played in stabilizing the country.
Kenya first deployed their personnel to Haiti in June 2024. The first contingent, comprising 400 officers, and the second, made up of 200 personnel, were drawn from a cross-section of elite Kenyan police units, including the General Service Unit (GSU), the Anti-StockTheft Unit (ASTU), and the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) of the Administration Police.
Their professionalism and discipline have been widely recognised by both Haitian authorities and international partners. At least three Kenya police officers have been killed in the mission.
Since their deployment they have made key achievements.
They include enhanced stability in Haiti, restored freedom of movement, the reopening of key road networks, and significant progress in training the Haitian Police, authorities said.
GSF will be a lethal and beefed-up force, supported by both a newly created U.N. Support Office and the Organization of American States. U.S. officials argued that a new, scaled-up and more lethal effort was needed.
Also, the new mission needed to be able to work independently of the Haitian police, something the MSS’ mandate did not allow, which meant that security forces struggled to reduce gangs’ territorial controls as gunmen coordinated and simultaneously launched attacks in different corners of the country.
Ultimately, the goal of the new suppression force is to support the Haitian police and the Haitian armed forces, and national institutions to ensure security conditions are conducive to holding free and fair elections and that humanitarian aid can be accessed safely and in a timely manner.
Like the MSS, the new force will still have a force commander in charge.
But now, it will be overseen by a group of countries representing the coalition of the willing, troop contributing countries.
How often they will meet and how they will settle differences, is one of the glaring issues with the proposal, say experts on peacekeeping missions, when you consider that soldiers and police who’ve never trained or worked together are being asked to fight together without a clear support.
Also, the new force will be reporting up through a special representative, a civilian who will provide oversight and political direction.
By Star