Time for unity and for stability Haiti appoints new leader as country mourns assassinated former president

Haiti's government has formally appointed a new prime minister, nearly two weeks after President Jovenel Moise was gunned down in a murder plot that likely extends far beyond the Caribbean country's borders.

Ariel Henry assumed the role of de-facto leader of the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation in a ceremony on Tuesday in the capital Port-au-Prince, where he began his inaugural speech with a minute of silence for the slain president.

Haiti has been struggling with lawlessness fuelled by violent gangs and Mr Henry said he wants to create conditions for as many people as possible to vote in elections, currently scheduled for September.

"It's time for unity and for stability," Mr Henry said.

Outgoing former Prime Minister Claude Joseph said Mr Henry's appointment was intended to facilitate elections, which were last held in 2016. He also warned of a tough task ahead.

"You're inheriting an exceptional situation characterised by the absence of a president to serve as your shield, a political crisis unprecedented in the history of the country, galloping insecurity, a morose and precarious economic situation," Mr Joseph said.

Both Mr Henry and Mr Joseph stressed the government needed to restore order and security as well as work to strengthen an economy wrecked by crime and the coronavirus pandemic.

The appointment comes as officials attended a ceremony in honour of the late Mr Moise.

Mr Moise was killed in the middle of the night at his private residence in Port-au-Prince by a group of more than 20 mostly Colombian mercenaries. The leader’s own security chief, some Haitian police officers and a couple of Haitian-Americans have been taken into custody on suspicion of involvement in the conspiracy to murder the president.

Police Chief Leon Charles announced four more formal arrests on Tuesday - at least three of them police officers, whose ranks he did not release.

"There was infiltration in the police," he said.

Mr Moise’s killing has rocked an already fragile political system while focusing attention on weak security institutions beset by powerful gangs that control swathes of Haiti like feudal lords.

His wife Marine, who was also shot during the assassination, arrived back in Haiti over the weekend after being treated for her wounds at a hospital in Miami.

Share this post