Musings From Abroad

Biden thanks Ruto for Kenya’s role in new Haiti mission

Published

1 year ago

October 4, 2023

US President, Joe Biden has thanked Kenyan President, William Ruto for his country’s role in the multinational security mission in gang-ridden Haiti.

Speaking with Ruto on Tuesday night, Biden thanked him for Kenya’s agreement to lead a UN-backed mission in Haiti.

The conversation took place at around 8 pm, according to sources close to the Kenyan presidency. Biden was also reported to have congratulated President Ruto on the successful hosting of the recent Africa Climate Summit, where the continent found a unifying voice on climate change that will be at the forefront of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Dubai in November.

Kenya, an East African powerhouse, is active in Haiti, and recently announced it was ready to be part of a multinational force. It committed to deploying 1,000 police officers to the country and “accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti.”

Ruto, during his address at the United Nations 78th General Assembly last month, maintained that the Caribbean country “deserves better from the world.” “Kenya is ready to play its part in full, and join with a coalition of other nations of goodwill – and there are many— as a great friend and true sibling of Haiti”, he said.

The US White House also confirmed the meeting between the two leaders in a statement which partly reads: “President Joe Biden spoke today with Kenya’s leader William Ruto to thank him for responding to Haiti’s call to serve as the lead nation for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. They also welcomed a successful vote at the UN Security Council authorising the MSS to bring relief to the people of Haiti who have suffered for far too long at the hands of violent criminals.

“The two presidents talked about alternative methods to advance regional security and mutual prosperity through new investment, jobs, and sustainable growth, in addition to the Haiti mission and the Africa Climate Summit”.

“We will continue to work on regional security, conflict resolution and counterterrorism to ensure that the Horn of Africa has the space to focus on social and economic progress,” Ruto said after the talks.

Since January, Haiti has been without elected officials, and nations around the world have been hesitant to back the unelected government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has stated that the current state of unrest makes it impossible to hold fair elections.

Children have been impacted by the violence in Haiti, as well as those on missions from other countries who have been kidnapped.

The two leaders welcomed the successful vote at the UN Security Council to approve Kenya’s request to lead the mission.

Ruto had earlier pledged at the UN General Assembly that Kenya was more prepared to restore peace and stability to the people of Haiti who have suffered for far too long at the hands of violent criminals.

The US has promised to support the mission financially and in other ways, a pledge made in a recent agreement between Kenyan Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin Lloyd J. Austin III.

Kenya said it was ready to send 1,000 troops to Haiti by January, to be joined by other troops from other countries who will join the mission.

The Haitian government led by Prime Minister Ariel Henry is under severe threat from organised gangs that have taken over the capital, Port-au-Prince.

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Musings From Abroad

Finnish court imprisons Nigeria’s Simon Ekpa for aiding terrorism

Published

9 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Simon Ekpa, a Nigerian separatist leader based abroad, has been placed under detention by the Päijät Häme District Court in Finland on suspicion of inciting others to commit acts of terrorism.

According to the local daily, Helsingin Sanomat, the court rendered the ruling on Thursday following his arraignment by the Central Criminal Police for his involvement in the terror attacks that have afflicted the southeast area of Nigeria.

“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland with means that have led to violence against civilians in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria,” stated Otto Hiltunen, the crime commissioner and investigation head.

“The man has carried out his activity, among other things, on his social media channels.”

Hiltunen also informed the court that the police suspected four additional individuals in Finland of funding Ekpa’s activities.

According to the story, Ekpa is of Nigerian descent and was born in the Finnish city of Lahti.

His offence occurred between August 23, 2021, and November 18, 2024, according to court documents cited in the publication.

Ekpa is not the only person the police have arrested. In February 2023, they caught him at a private Lahtian flat, but he was freed the same day.

Through the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, Ekpa has continued to be outspoken on social media, raising money and agitating for a Biafran nation to secede. In the southeast part of Nigeria, both factions have been involved in acts of violence, murders, and maimings.

Since gaining formal independence in 1960, Nigeria has seen the emergence of several separatist organisations. The latest surge of calls for self-determination among different ethnic groups has been louder under its immediate previous President Muhammadu Buhari.

Musings From Abroad

Malian singer Rokia Traore arrested in Italy, to be sent to Belgium

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

After Italy’s top court denied her appeal, well-known Malian singer, Rokia Traore, who was detained in Rome in June due to a global child custody dispute, will be sent over to Belgium in the next few days, her attorney announced on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old Traore is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and one of Africa’s most well-known vocalists.

“Rokia suffered an injustice. She was arrested without the Belgian criminal court hearing her voice. Now, the battle for Rokia’s rights moves to Brussels,” lawyer Maddalena Del Re said in a statement to Reuters.

The attorney also stated that in its decision late Tuesday, Italy’s Court of Cassation upheld an extradition decision from the European Court of Justice.

Under a European arrest order, Traore was taken into custody on June 20 at the Fiumicino airport in Rome. In October 2023, she was given a two-year prison sentence in Belgium related to a dispute over her daughter’s custody.

She had flown to perform outside Rome’s Colosseum, and she has been imprisoned in Civitavecchia, close to the Italian city, since her detention at Fiumicino.

Lawyer Del Re said that because a conviction was rendered without the defendant’s presence, the Belgian process goes against both international norms and Italian constitutional standards.

After she disregarded a court order to turn over her baby to her Belgian father, the singer’s divorced ex-partner, she was initially taken into custody in France in 2020 on a Belgian arrest warrant.

She disobeyed orders not to leave France until her extradition case was handled by taking a private jet to Mali months after being conditionally released. Mali is where her daughter resides.