Haitian activists tell President Ruto to withdraw Kenyan police from Haiti
The group, Haiti’s Unfinished Liberation of Dessalines (HULOD), said the deployment of Kenyan police under the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission is both unlawful and a betrayal of African and Haitian struggles for freedom.
A Haitian activist group has accused Kenya of playing a role in modern-day colonial domination through its ongoing police mission in Haiti.
In a letter addressed to President William Ruto, the group, Haiti’s Unfinished Liberation of Dessalines (HULOD), said the deployment of Kenyan police under the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission is both unlawful and a betrayal of African and Haitian struggles for freedom.
"We regret your government's decision to authorise the deployment of Kenyan police forces to Haitian territory as part of a mission that bears all the hallmarks of neo-colonial domination," the letter read in part.
Led by Daniel Alexis, HULOD said the deployment ignored court rulings and widespread public opposition, including that of former Kenyan presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot.
They warned that the mission undermines Haiti’s hard-won independence and disrespects the legacy of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first Black leader to found a modern republic.
"You appear today not as a liberator, but as a pawn in a system working against everything Africa once fought to overcome," the group told Ruto.
They described Haiti as sacred ground, born from the world’s first successful revolt against slavery, and said the police deployment ignores the will of Haitians resisting external control.
"Your Excellency, we appeal to your conscience as an African, as a brother, as a leader: withdraw your hand from Haiti. Choose to honour the will of a people who refuse to kneel. Choose to stand on the right side of history with liberty, with dignity, with sovereign nations rising," the letter added.
The group also called the MSS mission a failure, saying it cannot offer lasting peace in a country struggling with violent gangs, political instability, and broken institutions.
Currently, about 1,000 Kenyan police officers are stationed in Haiti as part of efforts to restore order. Two officers have lost their lives since the mission began.
