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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Kenya Haiti
HEADLINE: Kenya Pauses Police Deployment to Haiti but Will Lead Multinational Force
TEASER: Move follows Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry saying he will resign once transitional council in place
PUBLISHED AT: 03/21/24 at 9AM
BYLINE: Mariama Diallo
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: NAIROBI, KENYA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Amos Wangua
PRODUCER: Amos Wangua
SCRIPT EDITORS: Steve Hirsch, wpm
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA original & wires
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:45
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) [[While some Kenyans support President William Ruto's insistence on sending a police mission in Haiti, many others still wonder why their country wants to lead a multinational force aimed at helping quell violence and restore security given that other nations that are more powerful and better equipped have not stepped forward. For more, let's go to VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo.]]
((NARRATOR))
Passions are running high in the streets of Nairobi over possibly deploying the country's police to Haiti.
((VOX POPs))
((Stephen Ng'a Ng'a, Nairobi Resident)) ((English male))
"Why are we sending police instead of the military for such a thing? That's my question."
((Damaicline Masaki, Nairobi Resident)) ((English female))
"It does nothing because we are going to lose our beloved ones. Kenya, we don't have that power like the other countries such as the United States."
((Joseph Mule (pronounced Muleh, Nairobi Resident))) ((English male))
"I think it's a noble idea because we are all human beings, // although people are complaining about the procedure, which has been used.”
((Henry Mutreru, Nairobi Resident)) ((English male))
"We should urge the government to at least follow the court orders. ”
((END ACTS))
((MANDATORY CG: Kenya State House))
((NARRATOR))
President William Ruto, who recently signed a long-awaited bilateral accord with visiting Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry to pave the way for 1,000 Kenyan police officers to lead a proposed multinational, U.N.-backed force ((end credit)) that would help restore security in Haiti, insists it’s the right thing to do.
((William Ruto, Kenyan President (male, English)) ((MANDATORY CG: Kenya State House))
"It is a mission for humanity. It is a mission in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Haiti."
((END ACT))
((NARRATOR))
However, signing that accord was immediately followed by a fierce ((END MANDATORY CG))
battle between Haitian police and armed gangs who blocked Henry's return to the Caribbean nation, and eventually pushed the prime minister to say he will resign as soon as a transitional council is put in place.
Attorney Ekuru Aukot was among a group that filed a petition before Kenya’s High Court that argued sending the country's police to Haiti was unconstitutional. He says the recent signing was "misleading."
((Ekuru Aukot, LAWYER (male, English))
"First of all, it's a bogus agreement because it has no legitimacy both in law or even on the person representing [it]. Ariel Henry, for you to be able to enter into a contract, you must have capacity to enter into a contract."
((END ACT))
((NARRATOR))
And there are still problems whether this mission will go on or not because all the legal benchmarks have still not been satisfied, he says.
((Ekuru Aukot, LAWYER (male, English))
"When Jovenal Moise was killed in 2021, Henry was only supposed to be in power for 120 days. // For him to take over the role of prime minister under the constitution of Haiti, he must be ratified, vetted, and approved by parliament. He never was. So really the question then, coming to the agreement, who is this, who actually signed this agreement with the republic of Kenya."
((END ACT))
((NARRATOR)) ((Musamali setup))
George Musamali, a security consultant based in Nairobi, says it's time to rethink the Haitian issue.
((George Musamali, Security Expert (male, English))
"What people have not focused on is the reason for this turmoil. Remember we started talking about trouble in Haiti in 1805 when they first declared independence from the French. To date, Haiti has not seen peace. Basically, the solutions we've been putting on the table, are they working?
((END ACT))
((NARRATOR))
There have been several unsuccessful interventions, including efforts by the United States and the United Nations. It's time to try something new, he says.
((George Musamali, Security Expert (male, English))
"Basically, what they are going to do is to deal with the same same people they are calling gangs that the American intervention tried in 1815 but did not succeed. It tried again in 1994, it did not work. We tried again under the U.N. in 2004, but it still did not work."
((END ACT))
((NARRATOR)) // ((Mariama Diallo, VOA News))
With such a hostile and volatile situation now in Haiti, Musamali says it's hard to envision that a military or police intervention will work.
((MARIAMA DIALLO VOANEWS NAIROBI))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 21, 2024 09:20 EDT
BylineMariama Diallo
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
