Why Kenyan police are 'unrecognizable in Haiti'

Some of the elite police officers deployed to Haiti. [Courtesy]

Not so often do elite Kenyan police units showcase their gear and skill in televised urban combat.

This is unfolding in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince where Jimmy 'Berbecue' Chérizier is leading the G9 gang alliance against government forces.

For the past few weeks, social media has been awash with photos of Kenyan officers in action against the gang in the second-largest Caribbean Island.

Intrigued social media users have expressed awe over how the 'afandes' are menacingly outfitted for the multinational security support mission to Haiti.

Netizens highlighted that the officers wield M4 carbines, M-16s, Glock handguns, and wear enhanced combat helmets and tactical load-bearing vests.

They could pass for the Kenya Defence Forces’ Rapid Response Unit (RRU) with their General Service Unit-style camouflage and desert-brown boots.

They were however picked from the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), GSU's Recce Squad and the Border Patrol Unit (BPU).

Generally, Kenyan police officers wield Russian AK-47 rifles, German-made Heckler & Koch G3 and MP5, and Uzis as well as Browning and Jericho 941 pistols - aside from batons.

However, Recce Squad, RDU, BPU and ASTU, additionally, have access to US-made AR-15, Spanish-made CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 carbine and Belgian-made FN SCAR, just like KDF's RRU.

According to the UN, some of Haiti’s gangs have firepower that exceeds that of the Haitian National Police.

In a report released in April 2024 on the illegal arms trade in Haiti, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the gangs possess a wide range of weapons including AK-47s, AR-15s, an assortment of sniper rifles, and Israeli Galil assault rifles.

“The increasing number of weapons in circulation as well as the upgrading of arsenals is having an impact on the lethality and severity of the wounds being inflicted,” said a UN medical staffer in Haiti.

The staffer's sentiments echoed that of UN Executive Director on Drugs and Crime Ghada Waly who in January 2024 warned that “As long as gangs continue to have access to highly sophisticated firearms, they will remain capable of subjecting the Haitian population to a reign of terror.”

In contrast, organized criminal gangs in Kenya use pistols, homemade guns, and crude weapons such as swords, pangas, rungus, iron bars, arrows and - when all fails - chokehold (ngeta).

This arsenal mismatch is demonstrated by the gang's continued control of 80 per cent of the capital city, and their capacity to repel police attempts to crack down on the rampant violence.

Since January 2024, at least 13 Haitian police officers have been killed. Three were killed on June 9 alone during a clash with Chérizier’s gang in Sans-Fil district, northeast of Port-au-Prince.

A week earlier, the Kenyan National Police Service had been forced to refute claims that seven of its officers had been overpowered and gunned down by the gang in Port-au-Prince.

In a statement, former Inspector General Japhet Koome said the claims were unfounded and malicious.

“We wish to clarify to the public that our Officers left Kenya on June 24, 2024, and were not only received warmly by the great people of Haiti on arrival but are also all safe and ready to discharge their clear and specific mandate,” said Koome.

On July 17, Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille ordered the gangs to surrender their weapons and recognise the authority of the state.

"Life every day in Port-au-Prince has turned into a battle for survival... Many innocent people have lost their lives," said PM Conille.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposed an arms embargo on Haiti in 2022, banning all supplies of arms and related materials to individuals and entities.