Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Thursday said he was happy the United States froze its financial contributions to the United Nations for the Kenya-led multinational security support mission in Haiti.
The move, which stops $13.3 million in pending aid, was announced by U.N. Secretary-General’s Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Tuesday.
The U.S. had committed $15 million to the U.N. Trust Fund for Haiti; $1.7 million of which had already been spent and $13.3 million was frozen by President Donald Trump’s administration.
“I applaud Trump for his decision. We have never believed in that Haiti mission; there was a court order restricting it so this is another deal to the Ruto administration. I was happy with the news,” he said, referring to the January 2023 High Court decision which termed the deployment unconstitutional.
Kenya has to date deployed over 600 troops and President William Ruto has pledged to deploy 1,000 police officers to the mission approved by the U.N. Security Council in October 2023 to support Haiti’s authorities in fighting criminal gangs in the Caribbean country.
The funding freeze is part of newly elected President Donald Trump’s push to slash Washington’s overseas aid, including closing operations of the government’s main aid agency, USAID.
In addition to the $15 million transfer to the fund, the U.S. had contributed over $300 million in funds and equipment directly to the MSS, including dozens of armoured vehicles.
But while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month warned Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince could become overrun by gangs if the international community does not step up aid to the mission, Kenya’s government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura on Wednesday said despite the U.S. funds freeze, the fund remained “well-resourced” to support the mission through September.
