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NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Kenya to deploy an additional 600 police officers to war-torn Haiti

National

By Josphat Thiong’o | Oct 05, 2024

Kenya is set to deploy an additional 600 police officers to Haiti to bolster law and order in the troubled Caribbean nation.

The Standard has established that the officers are currently at the tail end of their pre-deployment training and a number of 300 will be deployed to Haiti in a month’s time to quell the rampant gang violence in the war-torn country.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, while emphasising the need for more boots on the ground in the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, noted that the deployment of the contingent is geared towards attaining the target of all the 2,500 police officers by January next year.

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The deployment of the 600 police officers, he explained, would see the number of police officers under the MSS mission increase to 1,010, up from a current 410, which includes 383 members from Kenya, 25 from Jamaica, and two from Belize.

“The four hundred and ten gallant officers have demonstrated that this is a mission possible. But there is only so much that 410 out of an envisaged 2,500 police officers can accomplish. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to increase boots on the ground hence we encourage all the countries that have pledged personnel, to move with speed, and join Kenya, Jamaica, and Belize,” he said.

Mudavadi, who also doubles as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, lauded the United Nations Security Council for the extension of the MSS Mission mandate by a year. He said there was need for increased funding of the mission to help it acquire the necessary equipment, including air and maritime capabilities to help optimize its mandate.

“Members need to increase the contributions to the UN Trust Fund which has become the main funding stream for the Mission because the donations thus far received cannot sustainably support even the 410 officers, not to mention the yet-to-be-deployed personnel,” he observed.

He added “While the MSS Mission is a critical and innovative intervention, it is only a part of the solution. I reiterate that it is not our intention to impose governance in Haiti but, to preserve peace and create an environment for democracy to flourish in a unique Haitian context.”

The police deployment to Haiti was approved by a UN Security Council resolution in October, 2023 but delayed by the courts which in January 2024 ruled it unconstitutional. The court ruled that President William Ruto’s administration had no authority to send officers abroad without a prior existing bilateral agreement.

But whereas the government later secured the agreement with Haiti in March, the Third Way Alliance opposition party has since moved to court in an attempt to block any further deployment.

Mudavadi, however, defended the achievements of the police officers in their first 100 days of deployment. He highlighted that working alongside the Haiti National Police (HNP), the mission had made demonstrable progress in securing critical infrastructure including the international airport and its surroundings, the national hospital, and the main seaport in Port-au-Prince.

“As a result, there has been an increase in economic activities and improvement in the movement of people and essential commodities. The joint patrols across Port-au-Prince have fortified civilian protection and cleared illegal roadblocks thus opening roads to facilitate easier flow of humanitarian assistance,” he stated.

Mudavadi also said that the Kenyan-led Mission had continued to exhibit “the highest standards of transparency and professional conduct” with no single case of indiscipline reported.

“It is worth noting that a few months ago, no private plane would land at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport because of the violence by heavily armed gangs which has led to the deaths of thousands of people in the city of Port-au-Prince, as well as in other parts of the country. Human security and dignity deteriorated leading to violence, displacement, and death,” said the CS.

He dismissed the criticism leveled against the possible achievement of mission success, noting that Kenya has been among the world’s leading Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) having deployed over 55,000 peacekeepers in over 40 countries globally.

They include Somalia, South Sudan, Namibia, Croatia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the DRC as well as in the East Timor, the Middle East, and the Balkans.