US President Joe Biden has sent charter flights to evacuate American citizens from war-torn Haiti.
This is after the US Congress blocked funding to President William Ruto’s government to deploy 1,000 police officers to Haiti to restore order.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives questioned Biden’s administration’s decision to donate Ksh 28 billion to Kenya for the Haiti mission.
With the funding facing hurdles, Biden’s administration is now seeking to evacuate all of its citizens from Haiti, a week after evacuating non-essential staff from its embassy.
With Haiti’s main airport in Port-au-Prince taken over by gangs, the United States decided to use the less-known airport in Cap-Haïtienhas.
“We are arranging a charter flight for U.S. citizens from Cap-Haitien to the United States, assuming the security situation in Cap-Haitien remains stable,” the US government updated its citizens.
Only US citizens with valid passports were eligible to board the charter flights.
“U.S. citizens who choose to depart using U.S. government-coordinated flights must sign a promissory note agreeing to reimburse the U.S. government for the cost of the flight,” the statement read further.
The US embassy in Haiti making its own assessment noted that the situation was unpredictable and dangerous.
Even with highly trained marines protecting US government officials in Haiti, the world’s superpower admitted it could not guarantee the safety of its citizens.
This comes even as Ruto has vowed that despite the deteriorating situation in Haiti, Kenya would not give up on the people of Haiti.
Here is a piece by a Kenyan who always cares for our country with regard to the insane idea of sending 1,000 Kenyan police officers to their death in Haiti.
WILLY MUTUNGA: Are we on a suicide mission to Haiti?
For once let all activists in Kenya come together and protect the lives and humanity of our 1000 police officers
In Summary
- A few recent historical facts are necessary. The US organized the overthrow of Aristide in 2004.
- From 2004-2017 the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, also known as MINUSTAH, a front for the US and France, occupied Haiti.
Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga:
As I write this article I do not know whether our compatriots are already in Haiti.
If they are then our government, the US, and the UN Security Council should be held accountable for what is a suicide mission to Haiti.
Our government, the US, and the UN Security Council have simply lured our compatriots into a deadly trap.
In total deviance of the orders of our courts, and the Constitution, the President and all state officers involved in this decision, are guilty of overthrowing the Constitution.
It is on the basis of actions like these that our Constitution has envisioned the impeachment of the President, and the withdrawal of our sovereign power from the President and his government.
What are these troops for?
A few recent historical facts are necessary. The US organized the overthrow of Aristide in 2004.
From 2004-2017 the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, also known as MINUSTAH, a front for the US and France, occupied Haiti.
Jovenei Moise was elected President in 2016. Ariel Henry was a functionary in the government of Mouse at different levels.
Moise was assassinated in 2021 and Henry took over political power. He has been in power unelected since the assassination of Moise.
Henry has postponed promised elections, saying security must first be established for a free and fair election. Henry also acts as Haiti’s President.
At the end of February 2024, Henry traveled to Kenya to meet our government that has volunteered to lead a Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti.
Our government had offered to send a thousand police officers to Haiti. The fly on the wall in the room where the two leaders met has a lot to tell us. Were they reflecting also on the trials and tribulations of serving imperialism?
It is in the public domain that the High Court has declared the position of our government unconstitutional.
Those who watched Otiende Omollo, a Senior Counsel and Member of Parliament on television, must be convinced by the legal arguments he advanced against the deployment of a police force in Haiti.
Besides legal arguments, there are also political arguments about the government sending its citizens on a suicide mission. Are we being told that the lives of our police officers do not count in the eyes of our government?
Why was there no public participation in these decisions? Everyone in our government, including the President, swore to protect, uphold, and defend the Constitution.
They also sought the help of the Almighty God in their obedience of the Constitution. Have they forgotten that one of God’s commandments is “Thou shalt not kill?”
How much did the US government pay our government to clean its continued mess in Haiti? Should there be transparency and accountability on this issue also? Both transparency and accountability are values in our Constitution.
It has become clear that our government, the US, and the UN Security Council while pontificating about democracy, and the rule of law, collectively subvert these values.
How can describe such actions? Hypocritical, perfidious, the employment of double standard, and for the US and UN, racism? Who do the three entities think they are hoodwinking?
Foreign interests here trump over our rule of law and the supremacy of our Constitution. Our government, just like that of Henry before he was overthrown, is pro-imperialism.
Did the US overthrow its puppet government in Haiti?
According to the Herald, Henry spent two days in the US upon return from Kenya.
He is reported to have informed the US government and the UN of when and how he intended to return to Haiti.
As Henry’s plane approached Santo Domingo he was suddenly told by the Dominican officials that he would not be allowed to land.
The Dominican Republic which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, was reported saying that the US had requested to have Henry make an “indefinite stop over” in the republic.
The Dominican Republic had refused the request prompting Henry’s plane to land in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. One can be forgiven for suggesting that the US has overthrown its puppet government in Haiti led by Henry.
Situation on the ground in Haiti
Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, who leads a broad alliance of the so-called “criminal gangs” has signaled the gangs could fight the proposed mission as a united front.
The Port-au-Prince International Airport is no longer secure. Local rights group RNDDH has reported that at least nine police stations have been torched while 21 public buildings or shops have been looted.
The group also reports that over 4,600 prisoners have escaped in the past week.
So, our compatriots, if in Haiti, are operating or will be operating under conditions of Haiti having no authority or government at the moment.
It is clear that Port-au-Prince is possibly under the rule of the broad alliance that our poor compatriots are supposed to police. What a death trap! What a suicide mission!
Whether our compatriots are still with us or are in Haiti what can we do to support them from these deadly actions by our government?
I believe we should think through a demonstration against these unconstitutional orders by our government.
We can walk peacefully to the offices of the Inspector General of Police and hand over to him our withdrawal of sovereign power from the government and his leadership of the police force on this matter. Our sovereign power must reinforce what the courts have decided.
For once let all activists in Kenya come together and protect the lives and humanity of our 1000 police officers even if their colleagues teargas us or use water cannons to stop us.
The writer is the former Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court, 2011-2016.
Here in Hivi Punde we have already raised and looked at the present and historic issues that Haiti as country poses to Africa and every black person on this earth.
Here is what we think.
