A 28-year-old Kenyan police officer was k*lled in Haiti on 23 February during a patrol with the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), marking its first fatality. Kenyan police had been deployed to the Caribbean nation in June 2024 to allegedly help restore stability amidst violence that comes after centuries of foreign interference.
Despite a High Court ruling declaring the deployment unconstitutional, Kenya has deployed over 600 police officers to Haiti. However, the mission’s future remains uncertain, given the Trump administration has launched a campaign to freeze foreign aid.
Mainstream media says organisations they refer to as ‘gangs’ now reportedly control much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and large parts of rural areas. In 2024 alone, the violence claimed the lives of over 5,500 individuals, forcing more than 1 million people to flee their homes.
Reports have argued the Haitian bourgeoisie, which collaborates with foreign powers, backs such gangs.
Haiti became the world’s first independent Black republic when it overthrew French colonialists in 1804. Since then, imperialist forces have strived to roll back the Haitian Revolution, beginning with the French demanding $21 billion in reparations for losing the colony. Since then, US, Canadian and French imperialists have interfered with and destabilised Haiti.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-kenya-gangs-police-killed-3599ea174c1d19b781a4b9a0fa346b0a
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62x3nyd6e4o
https://www.voanews.com/a/kenyan-police-officers-arrive-at-un-mission-in-haiti/7966157.html
https://marxist.com/the-gangs-of-haiti-and-the-failure-of-bourgeois-rule.htm