After the U.N. Security Council approved the transfer of command of a multinational mission to fight violent gangs in Haiti last month, Kenya’s government announced that its police officers would not be sent to the troubled Caribbean nation until all training and financial requirements were met.
The Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security of Parliament was informed by Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki that “unless all resources are mobilized and availed, our troops will not leave the country.”
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According to Kindiki, member nations of the United Nations are gathering resources and have decided how to organize and provide Kenya with funding for the mission. It was unclear right away, though, when the forces would be properly financed and trained to enable deployment.
As it waits for assistance, Haiti is reporting a new wave of kidnappings and homicides connected to gangs.
Five of the Superior Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes of Haiti’s staff were reportedly abducted in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, necessitating a temporary postponement of all proceedings.
The released statement, “The court hopes that the civil servants, who do not receive a salary that allows them to meet the financial demands of the kidnappers, will be quickly released.”
The gangs have recently invaded formerly tranquil neighborhoods in the seaside town of Mariani, west of the city, uprooting over 2,500 residents, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration.
In an effort to seize control of additional land, warring gangs have already caused the loss of over 200,000 houses to Haitians. Nowadays, a large number of the displaced people sleep outside or in crammed, filthy temporary settlements.
“In a country where security is not a priority for the government, each time you go out, you don’t know if you’re going to be shot at,” said 40-year-old construction worker Mario Volcy in Port-au-Prince while he was waiting for a bus. “These guys have machine guns in their hands. They could surprise you by doing something crazy and dumb.”
Afraid he may be assassinated or abducted, Volcy takes public transit from his village of Les Cayes, west of Port-au-Prince, to the capital. He stated that because drivers are now required to pay gangs a “toll” in order to travel safely, bus tickets have increased.
Afraid he may be assassinated or abducted, Volcy takes public transit from his village of Les Cayes, west of Port-au-Prince, to the capital. He stated that because drivers are now required to pay gangs a “toll” in order to travel safely, bus tickets have increased.
According to the U.N., from July 1 to September 30, there were over 1,230 recorded deaths and 701 reported kidnappings throughout Haiti, more than twice as many as during the same time the previous year.
Even though the international community has provided training and resources, gangs still outnumber Haiti’s National Police, which is underfunded and understaffed. According to a police union, two additional police officers died in late October, bringing the total number of policemen murdered this year to 32.
The National Police of Haiti, which is still underfunded and manned despite training and assistance from the international community, is still overrun by gangs. A police union said that two additional policemen died in late October, bringing the total number of police deaths this year to 32.
Prior to the U.N. Security Council’s agreement in early October to send a non-U.N. multinational force to Haiti that would be financed by voluntary contributions, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry had asked for the urgent deployment of foreign armed troops more than a year earlier.
According to Pierre Espérance, executive director of the Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network, not much will change even if the Kenyan military shows up.
“The biggest problem right now in Haiti is the absence of the government and rule of law, and also all key state institutions have collapsed, even the police,” he noted. “How will the force be able to operate in Haiti if we don’t have a functional government?”
Espérance further pointed out that the issue is made worse by the government of Haiti’s longstanding ties to gangs.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by a prime minister’s office representative.
The precise time of Kenya’s police deployment is unknown. Kenya’s government is waiting on the outcome of a local court lawsuit that is preventing the deployment in addition to waiting on financing and training.
Ekuru Aukot, a former presidential contender, filed a case claiming the deployment is illegal, and a court was due to decide on it. But because the judge is attending a course, the case was rescheduled for the second time in less than a month.
The new date for the case’s hearing is November 16.
The deployment also needs the approval of Kenya’s Parliament.
On October 25, the National Security Council of the nation petitioned Parliament to authorize the deployment. The petition is presently being processed by the Departmental Committee on Internal Security and Administration. Later this month, it will be brought before the House.
