An exclusive report by Reuters on Wednesday has revealed an ongoing plan by the Kenyan government to involve evangelical pastors in a high-profile anti-gang mission in Haiti.
This initiative has been approved by President William Ruto and is being overseen by First Lady Rachel Ruto. The deployment of at least 1,000 Kenyan troops is set to begin later this month.
The pastors’ efforts, which precede the military deployment, include meetings with Haitians in the United States, as well as with their evangelical counterparts, U.S. government officials, and even Haiti’s notorious gang leader, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier. Serge Musasilwa, an evangelical pastor from Kenya involved in the initiative, believes that their spiritual mission is essential for the success of the military intervention.
“We believe that we are a tool that God will use to help save the situation. This guy (Haitian gang leader Barbecue) might be a devil, but there is something that we can build on,” Musasilwa said, emphasizing that Haiti’s problems are primarily spiritual and need a spiritual intervention before the Kenyan troops arrive.
In the past month, the group of clerics flew to the US and met with multiple US State Department officials. During their visit, they also held a Zoom call with Haitian gang leaders, including Barbecue. This conversation, led by Evangelist Musasilwa, aimed at forging relationships and understanding the dynamics on the ground.
The pastors involved in this initiative believe that their established relationships with Haitian communities will help the Kenyan-led multinational force avoid the pitfalls of previous foreign interventions in Haiti. They are confident that Kenya’s mission will be successful due to this groundwork.
