Kenya's President William Ruto. PHOTO | NMG

An American diplomat has made controversial claims about Kenyan President William Ruto's move to head the UN-backed mission to restore peace in Haiti.

In an interview with CNN, Daniel Lewis Foote, who was the US special envoy to Haiti from July to September, said that the Kenyan president was after the money the UN is expected to inject into the mission.

Foote claimed that the Haiti mission was no walk in the park and that the well-organised gangs that overthrew the government would fight the Kenyan police to the death.

Read: Kenya on 'standby' as US raises funds for Haiti mission

“You see the reticence on the part of the Kenyan public to send these guys and that makes me nervous. I believe that this is more of a cash grab by President Ruto, whose country is going to receive a lot of money in doing this,” Mr Foote said.

In an interview with CNN, Daniel Lewis Foote, who was the US special envoy to Haiti from July to September, said that the Kenyan president was after the money the UN is expected to inject into the mission. PHOTO | POOL 

President Joe Biden’s administration had promised to inject Ksh13 billion ($100 million) to support the multinational force.

Kenya had promised to send 1,000 troops to the Caribbean nation in a deal struck between the Kenyan president and former Haitian prime minister Ariel Henry, who recently resigned to pave the way for the Transitional Council.

However, Mr Ariel resigned barely a week after signing an agreement in Nairobi, which stopped the deployment for a while.

After signing the deal, Mr Ariel was forced to land in Puerto Rico's capital San Juan as fighting intensified.

While the Haiti mission has received support from Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad, and Kenya, Mr Foote believes that there is a need to increase the number of troops that should be deployed if the mission has to be successful.

"A thousand isn't going to cut it and while they have commitments for double or triple that, that's still not going to cut it. Every time there has been a military intervention in Haiti in the past 20 years, it's had a minimum of 20,000 troops or police going in there," Foote stated.

Read: Five states pledge personnel for Haiti security mission

While Mr Foote suggests that Kenya’s motivation was based on billions that the UN Security Council will pump into the mission, the President has maintained that the country is going to Haiti because Haitians need help from Kenya.

“From Kenya, we are ready for this deployment, and I request all the other partners across the globe to step up so that we can respond in good time,” Ruto said when he signed the deal with Mr Ariel.

The latest development from the Caribbean state is that one of the gang leaders known as Ernst Julme, known as Ti Greg, was killed by the police in Thursday’s operation in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The death of Julme a member of gang leader Jimmy, better known as Barbeque, comes after the death of another gang leader, bringing hope to the people who have been cut off from essential services such as electricity, water, and access to health.

The situation in Haiti deteriorated in July 2021 following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The East African

Parliament has now created an avenue for President William Ruto to appoint an unlimited number of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs).

According to new amendments to the National Government Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023, the initial cap on the number of CASs to 22 has been removed and replaced with "as many as required".

The Bill seeks to amend the National Government Coordination Act of 2013 to entrench the CASs' positions. 

The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) chaired by Tharaka Nithi MP George Murugara had, in its initial report tabled in February, proposed that the number of CASs to be 22 similar to the number of Cabinet Secretaries. 

But in an addendum to the report, the committee took a U-turn and gave Ruto his much-sought opportunity to accommodate loyalists and losers of the 2022 General Election.

"In light of the varied roles that may be assigned to a CAS, JLAC noted that capping the number of CASs may affect the ability of the Executive to recruit and deploy the number of CASs required to deliver its programmes,” read the addendum.

Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo was, however, opposed to the idea, criticising the creation of the CASs positions which he said would only add to the already bloated wage bill. 

Amollo was concerned that giving Ruto a free hand to appoint unlimited CASs violated Article 152 (1) (d) of the Constitution which states that Cabinet Secretaries shall not be fewer than 14 and not more than 22.

“The proposal to introduce an uncapped number of CASs is indeed an affront to the Constitution and would occasion additional expense on public finances and pose an unnecessary burden on Kenyan taxpayers,” he said. 

The Bill that is in the reading stage and is to be considered as soon as the House resumes from recess has also spelt out the roles of the CASs.

It sought to have the appointments made by the President on recommendation by PSC in an exercise that takes into consideration regional and gender balance.

In its report on the National Government Administration Laws (Amendments) Bill, 2024, JLAC explained that the functions and designation of the office of the CAS will be streamlined to avoid conflicting roles with the Principal Secretary in the state departments. 

The committee also proposed amendments to the Bill which will hinder the CASs from handling any parliamentary matters unlike in an earlier proposal where they would act as liaisons with Parliament and county governments on matters of concurrent mandate.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula has allowed for the continuation of debate on the CAS Bill.

National Assembly minority leader Opiyo Wandayi had opposed the passing of the Bill in its current form stating that the prior Bill had led to the High Court declaring the positions illegal.

He reiterated that CAS offices and Chief of Staff as contained in the Bill are "outrightly unconstitutional and therefore, Parliament cannot proceed, and should not proceed to process it in its current form".

Wetang'ula, in his communication to the House, however said that the courts had pronounced themselves in the question as to whether a position can be created through legislation.

He said that the courts had stated that such appointments required approval by Parliament and therefore ruled that the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee was within the law in dispensing the Bill.

"This Bill is therefore properly and legally before Parliament and can now proceed to its final stages,” the Speaker ruled. By Josphat Thiong’o, The Standard