By Desmond Nleya
Kenya’s President William Ruto has reaffirmed his country’s commitment to helping stabilize Haiti, declaring that the crisis “can and must be solved” despite the mounting challenges facing the UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS).
Ruto made the remarks on Monday during a High-Level Meeting on Haiti at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He acknowledged that the mission has been hampered by logistical and resource constraints. “The biggest challenge the MSS faces is logistics, transport and support. If that remains unpredictable, I’m afraid the next mission may suffer the same as MSS,” Ruto warned.
The UN Security Council approved the MSS on 2 October 2023. But as of June 2025, fewer than 1,000 personnel—mostly Kenyan—have been deployed, far short of the 2,500 originally planned.
Ruto thanked the United States for its assistance in transporting troops and equipment but voiced concern over the reliability of the gear provided. “Most of the vehicles were second-hand vehicles, and therefore they broke down a lot, many times, and in fact, it put our personnel in great danger when they broke down in very dangerous places. But at least [the US] stepped up,” he said.
Meanwhile, Washington reiterated its push for the creation of a Gang Suppression Force (GSF) with a broader mandate to restore security in the Caribbean nation. US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the proposal has won support from all 32 members of the Organization of American States (OAS).
“It’s not that often you get all 32 members of an international body to agree on something,” Landau said, noting that the proposed force would field more than 5,500 personnel—“more than five times the size of the current MSS mission.”
