A circle of Christian evangelical pastors is the latest group President William Ruto has consulted regarding Kenya's deployment of police officers to Haiti.
- Kenyan evangelical pastors have provided recommendations and acted as intermediaries between Haitian communities and the president
- The strategy has faced criticism and scepticism, with some questioning the focus on evangelism and outreach to gang leaders
He had sought advice from political advisers, security officials, and foreign leaders concerning the high-profile anti-gang mission before turning to the less conventional counsellors:
According to interviews with two of the pastors and three Haitian and American evangelical leaders, these pastors have provided recommendations to Ruto and acted as intermediaries between Haitian communities and the president.
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The pastors' efforts ahead of the deployment, scheduled to begin later this month, have included meetings with Haitians in the United States, as well as evangelical counterparts, U.S. government officials, and even Haiti's most notorious gang leader, Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier.
"We believe that we are a tool that God will use to help," said Serge Musasilwa, an evangelical pastor in Kenya involved in the initiative. Musasilwa said he has worked on conflict resolution in his native Democratic Republic of Congo and several other African countries.
People involved in the initiative believe that the relationships forged with Haitian communities will help the Kenyan-led multinational force avoid the mistakes of past foreign interventions in Haiti.
Previous missions not only failed to stabilize the country but also left behind legacies of human rights abuses and disease, most notably a cholera outbreak in 2010, believed to have been introduced by Nepali U.N. peacekeepers.
Not everyone is convinced by the Kenyan pastors' strategy. Evangelicals have a complex history in Haiti, where they have invested heavily in humanitarian projects but also faced criticism for ethical scandals, including alleged child trafficking by some missionaries after the devastating 2010 earthquake, and for preaching intolerance of local spiritual practices.
Pierre Espérance, Executive Director of the National Human Rights Defence Network in Haiti, expressed scepticism, stating that Kenya should focus on its security mandate and called the outreach to gang leaders an insult to their victims. "It's not a question of the gospel or praying with gangs that will resolve problems," he said.
