Dodda Ganesh with the officials of Kenya cricket© X (Twitter)

Nairobi:

A Kenyan court on Tuesday ordered a man who police said has confessed to murdering and dismembering 42 women to be detained for 30 days as they pursue their investigations.

Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, 33, described by police as a “vampire, a psychopath”, was arrested in the early hours of Monday following the horrific discovery of mutilated bodies in a Nairobi garbage dump.

He appeared in a court in the Kenyan capital where the magistrate approved a police request for him to be held for 30 days to enable them to complete their probe.

Since Friday, 10 butchered female bodies trussed up in plastic bags have been hauled from the site of an abandoned quarry in the Nairobi slum of Mukuru, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

The head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, said Monday that Kalusha had confessed to murdering 42 women over a two-year period from 2022, and that his wife had been his first victim.

The DCI said in a statement Tuesday that investigators were holding another two “persons of interest”, one of whom was allegedly found with the phone of one of the victims.

Caught ‘luring another victim’

Kalusha was detained in the early hours of Monday near a bar where he had been watching the Euro 2024 football match, after officers analysed the phone of one of his alleged victims.

As officers swooped in, “he was in the process of luring another victim”, Amin told reporters.

“We are dealing with a vampire, a psychopath,” Amin said.

The grisly discoveries were made just 100 metres (yards) from a police station and the officers there have been transferred to ensure an unbiased investigation, acting national police chief Douglas Kanja said on Monday.

The area — including Kalusha’s home, also about 100 metres from where the bodies were found — will remain “active crime scenes”, Amin said.

The dumped bodies have thrown a spotlight on Kenyan police and added more pressure on President William Ruto, who is already confronting a crisis over protests that saw dozens of demonstrators killed and officers accused of using excessive force.

The state-funded KNCHR said it was carrying out its own investigations into the Mukuru case because “there is a need to rule out any possibility of extrajudicial killings”.

Amnesty International said it had been directly involved in the retrieval of some of the bodies and had sent independent pathologists to attend postmortems of the victims.

“While it is the case that a multiple homicide crime has taken place, only completing these autopsies will confirm the ongoing investigation into the perpetrator of these murders,” Irungu Houghton, executive director of Amnesty’s Kenya branch, told AFP.

Kenya’s police watchdog, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, had also said Friday it was looking into whether there was any police involvement or a “failure to act to prevent” the killings.

Tensions had run high at the crime scene over the weekend, as volunteers combed through the vast piles of rubbish in search of more victims with officers briefly firing tear gas to disperse the crowds.

Kenyan police are often accused by rights groups of carrying out unlawful killings or running hit squads, but few have faced justice.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kenya’s President William Ruto. The ballooning debt in East Africa’s economic hub of Kenya is expected to grow even more after deadly protests forced the rejection of a finance bill that President William Ruto said was needed to raise revenue.
| Photo Credit: AP

The ballooning debt in East Africa’s economic hub of Kenya is expected to grow even more after deadly protests forced the rejection of a finance bill that President William Ruto said was needed to raise revenue. He now warns “it will have huge consequences.”

Facing public calls to resign, Mr. Ruto has said the government will turn to slashing a $2.7 billion budget deficit by half and borrowing the rest, without saying from where.

After anger over the bloated bureaucracy and luxurious lives of senior officials helped to fuel the protests, Mr. Ruto also has promised funding cuts in his own office and said the funding would stop for the offices of the first lady, the “second lady” — the wife of the Vice President — and the wife of the prime Cabinet secretary. Almost four dozen state enterprises with overlapping roles will be closed.

Mr. Ruto has become deeply unpopular in his two years in office over his quest to introduce taxes meant to enable Kenya to repay its $80 billion public debt to lenders including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and China.

The public debt makes up about 70% of Kenya’s gross domestic product, the highest in 20 years.

How Mr. Ruto’s administration will find the money to pay off debt without further angering millions of Kenyans barely getting by, and without slowing down the economy, is the key question. The economy grew 5.6% in 2023.

Economist Mbui Wagacha, a former adviser to previous President Uhuru Kenyatta, said Kenya needs a professional budget and management body like the Office of Management and Budget in the U.S. Currently, Kenya’s treasury makes budget estimates and forwards them to the parliamentary finance committee, which creates the finance bills.

“Parliament has abdicated its mandate on the public finances in the Constitution and it’s looking after its own interests,” Mr. Wagacha said in an interview.

He said further borrowing by Kenya could be “disastrous” and proposed a strategy of using diplomacy to attract investment and restructuring the debt in an attempt to get creditors to write off some of it.

Another economist, Ken Gichinga, agreed that government borrowing will slow down Kenya’s economy. Businesses still haven’t recovered from the effects of the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, he said.

“When the government borrows more, interest rates go up. And when interest rates go up, businesses slow down, the economy slows down, due to the high cost of repayment,” Gichinga said.

Kenya’s President has advocated self-sustainability, saying the country should raise more revenue instead of borrowing. “If we are a serious state, we must be able to enhance our taxes,” he said in May.

But Kenyans have rejected attempts to raise taxes as they struggle with rising prices on basic goods, even storming parliament during the recent protests.

Last week, days after announcing he would not sign the finance bill he once championed, Mr. Ruto said he had worked hard “to pull Kenya out of a debt trap” and that huge consequences lie ahead.

Mr. Wagacha said economic growth must come before the government increases revenue targets and tax collection.

“You create an expanded economy with employment and with investment, and people have money in their pockets. It’s much easier for them to hear about your request for taxes,” he said.

He suggested making access to low-interest credit easier for businesses in key sectors like tourism and agriculture, saying small businesses hold the key to Kenya’s economic growth as they tend to absorb many employees. That could help address high youth unemployment.

The government should incentivize businesses to create jobs with low taxation and lower interest rates, Mr. Gichinga said: “At the end of the day, we need a jobs-centred economic policy. That’s what we’ve been lacking.”

The IMF, which had suggested some of the controversial tax changes, has been a target of Kenya’s public dissatisfaction. Some protesters had posters with messages such as “IMF stop colonialism.”

In a statement late last month, the IMF said it was monitoring the situation in Kenya, adding that its main goal was to help it “overcome the difficult economic challenges it faces and improve its economic prospects and the well-being of its people.”

The IMF needs to do more for Kenya beyond focusing on debt sustainability and be a “strong development partner,” Mr. Gichinga said.

Crowds in Kenya’s capital Nairobi lobbed rocks and looted businesses as police officers fired tear gas in scattered violence during fresh anti-government protests on Tuesday following last month’s deadly demonstrations.

Activists have continued to agitate online against President William Ruto, despite his decision last week to withdraw a controversial bill that triggered what he has branded “treasonous” protests by Gen-Z Kenyans.

Protesters run from a charge of the Kenya anti-riot police during an anti-government demonstration
Photo Credit: AFP

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) on Monday said that 39 people had been killed and 361 injured during two weeks of protests — with the worst violence occurring in Nairobi last Tuesday — and condemned the use of force against demonstrators as “excessive and disproportionate”.

It is the most serious crisis to confront Ruto since he took office in September 2022 in a nation often considered a beacon of stability in a turbulent region. 

A protester holds a newpaper while smoke billows from a burning barricade during an anti-government demonstration
Photo Credit: AFP

After last week’s bloody chaos, young Kenyans, whose protest movement has no official leaders, called for a new day of peaceful action on Tuesday, with leaflets posted online using the hashtag “RutoMustGo”.

But Nairobi’s central business district — the focus of previous rallies — saw sporadic confrontations on Tuesday afternoon. Police fired tear gas and used water cannon against groups of stone-throwing men, some of whom lit bonfires on deserted roads.

“Goons have infiltrated,” prominent Gen-Z protester Hanifa Adan posted on X.

AFP journalists reported seeing a number of arrests and injuries, although there are no official figures.

Kenya Police officers detain an injured man during an anti-government demonstration
Photo Credit: AFP

Several coffins, some covered with the national flag, were placed on roads by protesters, images on Kenyan television showed, before they were removed by officers.

Local politician John Kwenya told AFP that business owners shuttering their shops were “scared” of the “goons”.

“This is economic sabotage,” said Kwenya, a member of the Nairobi city county assembly.

Elsewhere in the country, local television broadcast images of larger marches in the coastal opposition stronghold of Mombasa, where a number of cars were torched, and Kenyan media shared video of at least one shop being vandalised.

Protesters react after setting urban furniture on fire during an anti-government demonstration
Photo Credit: AFP

Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki denounced what he described as an “orgy of violence”, warning that the government would take action against anyone engaging in “anarchic chaos and cruel plunder”. 

“This reign of terror against the people of Kenya and the impunity of dangerous criminal gangs must end at whatever cost,” he said.

On Tuesday last week, largely peaceful anti-tax rallies descended into deadly chaos when lawmakers passed the finance bill — a deeply unpopular move among Kenyans already suffering from a cost of living crisis.

After the announcement of the vote, crowds ransacked the partly ablaze parliament complex in central Nairobi as police fired live bullets at protesters.

Protesters run inside the Kenyan Parliament as Kenya Police officer look at them on June 25
Photo Credit: AFP

Although Ruto scrapped the legislation and appealed for dialogue with young Kenyans, his actions appear not to have appeased his critics.

In a television interview on Sunday he defended his decision to call in the military to tackle unrest and insisted he did not have “blood on my hands”. 

In the Rift Valley town of Nakuru on Tuesday, protesters marched peacefully, with some carrying pictures of three people killed in last week’s demonstrations.

“We want justice for innocent Kenyans killed by police during the protests that were peaceful,” Mary Lynn Wangui told AFP.

“Ruto has not offered an apology,” said the 24-year-old, as she waved a placard declaring: “RutoMustGo”.

At a peaceful march in the lakeside city of Kisumu in western Kenya, demonstrator Allan Odhiambo, 26, told AFP he had lost hope in Ruto.

“We promised a peaceful protest and that is what we have done, but Ruto must go,” he said.

The state-funded KNCHR on Monday said that in the previous protests there had been 32 cases of “enforced or involuntary disappearances” and 627 arrests of protesters. 

Kenya’s cash-strapped government said previously that the tax increases were necessary to fill its coffers and service a huge public debt of some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), or about 70 percent of GDP.

In Sunday’s interview, Ruto warned that the government would have to borrow another $7.7 billion because of the decision to drop the finance bill.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Nairobi:

At least 39 people have lost their lives in recent anti-government protests in Kenya against the new tax hike, reported Al Jazeera, citing the national rights watchdog.

The activists have geared up for a new round of protests this week in Kenya.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) announced the toll on Monday, which is almost double the figure previously disclosed by the government for those killed while demonstrating against a raft of unpopular tax increases that have now been withdrawn.

KNCHR records further indicated that 39 people have died and 361 have been injured “in relation to the protests countrywide”, the state-funded body said in a statement, adding that the figures covered the period from June 18 to July 1, reported Al Jazeera.

It further stated that there had been 32 cases of “enforced or involuntary disappearances” and 627 arrests of protesters.

Moreover, largely peaceful anti-tax rallies, led by mostly young Gen-Z protesters, descended into shocking scenes of deadly violence last Tuesday when lawmakers passed the contentious legislation.
Later, following the announcement of the vote, crowds ransacked the parliament complex in central Nairobi and it was partly set ablaze as police fired live bullets at protesters, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Notably, it is the most serious crisis to be confronted by the government of President William Ruto since he took office in September 2022 following a deeply divisive election in a nation often considered a beacon of stability in a turbulent region.

Ruto, in a televised interview on Sunday, said that 19 people had died in the protests, but insisted that he did not have “blood on my hands” and pledged an investigation into the deaths.
The KNCHR “continues to condemn in the strongest terms possible the unwarranted violence and force that was inflicted on protesters, medical personnel, lawyers, journalists and on safe spaces such as churches, medical emergency centres and ambulances,” the rights body said.

“We maintain that the force used against the protesters was excessive and disproportionate,” it added.

The watchdog also said that it “strongly condemns the violent and shocking acts of lawlessness that were exhibited by some of the protesters” including the parliament and other government buildings.

Moreover, fresh protests have been called by activists beginning Tuesday despite last week, when Ruto announced that he would not sign into law the bill containing the tax hikes.

Additionally, leaflets have been posted on social media with the hashtags “Occupy Everywhere”, “Ruto must go” and “Reject Budgeted Corruption”.

India has also issued an advisory for its nationals in Kenya, as protests against a tax hike turned violent, causing a rampage in the African nation.

The Indian Embassy in Kenya earlier advised the Indian nationals there to “exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up.”

“In view of the prevailing tense situation, all Indians in Kenya are advised to exercise utmost caution, restrict non-essential movement and avoid the areas affected by the protests and violence till the situation clears up,” the Embassy stated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Kenyan activist Auma Obama, the half-sister of former US President Barack Obama, was among protesters tear-gassed on Tuesday during demonstrations outside the parliament building in Nairobi, a CNN interview showed.

Police opened fire on demonstrators trying to storm Kenya’s legislature on Tuesday, with at least five protesters killed, dozens wounded and sections of the parliament building set ablaze as lawmakers inside passed legislation to raise taxes.

Auma Obama was taken aside by a CNN reporter and asked why she was there.

“I’m here because – look at what’s happening. Young Kenyans are demonstrating for their rights. They’re demonstrating with flags and banners. I can’t even see anymore,” she said, beginning to cough and shield her eyes from the spreading smoke.

“We are being tear-gassed.”

A man behind her carried a sign reading, “Colonialism never ended in Kenya,” while another yelled, “This is our country. This is our nation.”

Auma Obama earlier posted photos of herself on Twitter at the protest.

The office of former President Obama did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the incident involving his sister or the violence in Kenya.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kericho, Kenya:

When the then-Princess Elizabeth visited Kenya in 1952, Kibore Cheruiyot Ngasura was among a group of young men chosen to sing for her at an event near Lake Victoria.

The men planned to use the occasion to petition Elizabeth to relocate their parents from a detention camp in the barren, mosquito-infested town of Gwassi, where members of the Talai clan had been held for nearly two decades on suspicion of fomenting resistance to British colonial rule.

The event never happened. Before Elizabeth could make it to Lake Victoria, word came that her father, King George VI, had died. The new queen hurried back to London.

More than 70 years later, Elizabeth’s son, King Charles, will visit Kenya this week on a state visit. And Ngasura, now about 100 years old, again has a message for the royal visitor.

“I wish to inform him that we should be compensated for the hardship that we went through,” Ngasura told Reuters outside his house, a small wooden and iron structure on a grassy hill with two lightbulbs and no running water.

Buckingham Palace has said Charles’ visit, which begins on Tuesday, will acknowledge “painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history”. The British ruled for more than six decades before Kenyan won its independence in 1963.

But for some communities in western Kenya’s fertile highlands, the injustices caused by British colonisation are as much present-day realities as historical memories.

A U.N. report in 2021 said more than half a million Kenyans around the western town of Kericho suffered gross human rights violations including unlawful killings and land expropriation during British colonial rule.

The colonial administration took hundreds of square kilometres of land that communities in western Kenya had lived on for generations and handed it to British settlers. Much of it became tea plantations that today belong to multinational companies, the U.N. report said.

“Our people, most of them, are living below poverty level,” said Joel Kimetto, a representative of the Kipsigis ethnic group, of which the Talai are one of 196 clans.

“The majority of the vast fertile lands were taken by the British and our people were chased away to the native reserves where it is hilly, rocky, slopey and unproductive,” he said.

A spokesperson for the British government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office noted that the UK government had previously expressed regret for abuses committed during a 1952-1960 uprising in central Kenya against colonial rule.

It agreed to an out-of-court settlement in 2013 to pay almost 20 million pounds to elderly Kenyans who suffered torture and abuse during what is known by Kenyans as “the emergency” after a London court ruled the victims could sue.

“We believe the most effective way for the UK to respond to the wrongs of the past is to ensure that current and future generations learn the lessons from history, and that we continue to work together to tackle today’s challenges,” the spokesperson said in response to questions from Reuters.

The spokesperson did not address the allegations raised by the Kipsigis and Talai, which are separate from the abuses during the emergency. Buckingham Palace did not respond to a request for comment.

‘NO INTENTION’ TO COMPENSATE

Charles will not travel to western Kenya during his visit, which will take him to the capital Nairobi and eastern port city of Mombasa, according to a statement from the palace.

The British government has not been receptive in the past to requests by the Kipsigis and Talai to discuss compensation. In 2019, it informed the communities it had “no intention to enter any process” to resolve the claims, according to the U.N. report.

Ngasura said he was about 12-years-old – he does not know his exact birth date – in 1934 when the British rounded up around 700 Talais and forced them to march for weeks to reach Gwassi.

Following protests by the young men, he and a few dozen others were relocated in 1945 to a detention camp closer to Kericho, where they could find wives from their community.

They were finally released in 1962, but the land where they had once grazed their livestock and collected honey now belonged to British settlers and tea companies.

Ngasura was able to scrape together the money to buy a small plot from a British army captain. Today, he and his descendants who live there survive off of a half-dozen cows and some maize crops.

It is no comparison to what he knew as a child.

“We could take cows anywhere. The land was huge,” he recalled. “This land is not big enough. Otherwise we would have kept a lot of cows and grown coffee.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A fake lawyer, Brian Mwenda, who has won 26 cases while representing himself as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, has been taken into custody by Kenyan police. As per Nigerian Tribune, the attorney handled all these cases in front of Magistrates, Court of Appeal Judges, and High Court judges.

Mwenda had been able to portray himself as a qualified attorney for a considerable amount of time, according to the report, and judges did not doubt his abilities until after his most recent arrest.

The Rapid Action Team of the Nairobi Branch of the Law Society of Kenya arrested him on false pretences after they received a lot of public complaints.

The official account for the Nairobi Branch of the Law Society of Kenya, wrote on X, formerly Twitter,  “The Branch wishes to notify all members of the society and of the public that BRIAN MWENDA NJAGI is not an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, from the Society’s records, neither is he a member of the Branch.” He is being held by the officials for further investigation.

The Law Society of Kenya said that Mwenda accessed their portal criminally and “identified an account with a name corresponding to his, tampered with the details, and uploaded his own photo in a bid to infiltrate Kenya’s legal profession”, as per a report in Ghana Web.

They added that after an emergency meeting, they analysed that “Brian Mwenda stole the identity of a lawyer with a name that is similar to his – Brian Mwenda Ntwiga – after the legitimate lawyer reached out to the Secretariat after realising that he could no longer log into the system.”

After informing the IT department on September 28 of his difficulties, they promptly discovered that he was unable to access his membership site since the information in the system, especially his email address, did not belong to him.

 “On the 5th Day of August 2022, Brian Mwenda Ntwiga was admitted to the Bar and his correct email address was captured and an Account opened for him in the Advocates portal. We reached out to Advocate Brian Mwenda Ntwiga who confirmed that he had not applied for a practicing certificate since his admission, reason being that he had been working at the Office of the Attorney General and did not require a Practicing Certificate,” the statement said.

The Law Society of Kenya continued, “It was only until sometime in September 2023 when he attempted to login into the system and activate his profile to apply for his Practising Certificate that he realised he could not access his LSK Portal.”

They also revealed that after being granted access to the platform, Brian Mwenda modified his profile photo, applied for, and paid for his practising certificate. “Upon being allowed access to the account, he took control of the portal and changed his profile picture, the workplace and applied and paid for the practicing certificate. However, his application was not processed since he was required to provide documents including the certificate of business incorporation,” they said.

File photo: Students walk past a burning barricade that was set up by members of the police protesting bad police governance in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The story so far: Around a year after Haiti approached the United Nations seeking urgent help to combat deadly gang violence, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has approved international intervention in the form of a foreign security mission, led by Kenya, to restore security, protect critical infrastructure and control spiralling violence in the country.

On October 2, the Council voted to adopt the resolution drafted by the United States and Ecuador, with 13 of the 15 members voting in favour of the mission. Condemning widespread violence, criminal activities and human rights abuses that have undermined the peace and security of the region, the member countries decided that the mission may adopt urgent temporary measures in coordination with the Haitian National Police.

After the vote, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry thanked the UNSC and said, “The bell of liberation sounded. … We couldn’t wait any longer!” Haiti’s Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus also hailed the “historic” resolution as a “glimmer of hope for the people that have for too long suffered the consequences of a multi-pronged crisis.”

Haiti has experienced a surge in violence over the past year as armed groups took control of large parts of the country, including the capital Port-au-Prince. This has resulted in widespread killings of nearly 2,800 people, including 80 minors, between October 2022 and June 2023. Human rights groups have reported a rise in sexual violence and crimes against women. In addition to this, mass looting and burning of houses have led to the displacement of thousands of people, with around 200,000 fleeing their homes. As per estimates, almost half the population is in need of humanitarian assistance.

A protester holds up a machete, during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, August 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Why is the UN sending a multinational security mission to Haiti?

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry first sought international support to assist the national police in October last year after the country plunged into a crisis when a group of gangs called “G9 and Family” seized control of the entry of the main fuel port Varreux in the capital protesting the PM’s decision to cut fuel subsidies. The blockade brought the country to a standstill and led to massive shortages. The lack of gas and diesel adversely affected transportation and forced several hospitals and other medical institutions that relied on fuel-powered generators to halt operations. A UNICEF report at the time claimed that the operations of three-quarters of the country’s major hospitals were hit due to the blockade.

Also Read | UN chief says Haiti urgently needs international security force and humanitarian aid

To make matters worse, there was a shortage of bottled water in the backdrop of a new outbreak of cholera. As the crisis deepened and overwhelmed the short-staffed police force, Haitian leaders turned to the international community for help, seeking a specialised armed force to counter gangs and their sponsors.

However, the wait was long. The U.S. and the United Nations were hesitant to take the lead. The stalemate ended in July this year after Kenya proposed to head the multinational force, following which the resolution was forwarded to the UNSC. This was a significant step, as approval from the UNSC is crucial to give international intervention weightage under international law.

A woman walks through a landfill looking for salvageable items, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 1, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP

What do we know about the mission?

Unlike the U.N. peacekeeping mission to Haiti that ended in 2017, the multi-national security mission (MSS) approved by the UNSC will not be operated by the United Nations. Kenya has volunteered to lead the force. Other countries like the Bahamas, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda have also offered support. 

The resolution says that the force will provide “operational support” to the Haitian National Police, including building its capacity to counter gangs, improve security conditions in the country and secure ports, airports and critical intersections. Notably, the resolution adds that the forces will have the authority to make arrests in coordination with Haitian police. It also intends to create favourable conditions in the country to pave the way for elections. Polls have not taken place in Haiti since 2016.

The definite strength of the force in Haiti has not been specified in the resolution, although discussions suggested that 2,000 personnel would be part of the mission. The Kenyan government had previously volunteered to send 1,000 officers of its national police force to assist and train Haiti’s police force.

The United States, meanwhile, has made it clear that it won’t send its troops. It, however, has pledged $100 million in logistical support like intelligence, communications, airlift operations and medical aid. The mission has been approved for one year with a review after nine months. While the deployment date is yet to be announced, Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Alfred Mutua was quoted as saying by The Associated Press that the force could deploy within two to three months, or possibly early January.

What led to the delay?

Haiti’s troubled past with foreign military interventions is being viewed as the primary reason for the delay in the deployment of a multinational security mission to counter the gang violence in the country. The last time a force was sent to stabilise Haiti was in 2004. when former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a rebellion.

Thiswas followed by a U.N. peacekeeping mission — the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) which went on from 2004 to 2017. The mission was marred by allegations during its deployment in the country. A sewage runoff from a peacekeeper camp was blamed for causing a cholera epidemic which saw more than 10,000 deaths. There were also serious allegations of sexual abuse against the U.N. peacekeepers. Since then, Haitians have been sceptical about the intervention of a foreign armed force.

Besides the country’s troubled past with interventions under the aegis of the U.N., countries were also wary of lending support to Prime Minister Henry who doesn’t enjoy the popular support of Haitians.

(With inputs from agencies)