Kenya’s police chief announced on October 12, 2024, that an additional 600 police personnel would be prepared for deployment in early November as part of a UN-backed operation to attempt to stem the widespread gang violence in Haiti.
In response to a plea by both leaders for further action from the international community, President William Ruto recently promised the extra officers after the meeting with Haiti’s acting prime minister, Garry Conille.
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Douglas Kanja, Kenya’s Inspector General of Police, stated, “A contingent of 600 officers will soon join the Kenyan police already stationed in Haiti after completing pre-deployment training.”
Kanja stated during a Nairobi press conference where Conille accompanied the Inspector General, “Once this training is complete, the officers will be ready for departure early next month.”
With 400 police officers dispatched so far, the East African nation is spearheading the worldwide effort to combat the nation’s spiraling insecurity in the crime-ravaged Caribbean.
Kanja responded to worries over the wait times for officers’ paychecks who had already arrived in Haiti by saying, “The payment issue has been sorted out, and the officers are happy.”
Ruto has called on the world to support the effort, which has been hindered by a persistent shortage of funds, “urgently.” In an appeal that Conille reiterated, he declared, “This is the moment to provide that critical support for us to be able to undertake the exercise at hand.”
The visit by the Haitian leader to Kenya occurred one week after gunmen opened fire in the Haitian hamlet of Ponte Sonde, around 60 miles (or 100 kilometers) from the capital Port-au-Prince, murdering 109 people and injuring at least 40 more.
The UN Security Council did not convert the policing operation into a UN peacekeeping mission, as proposed by Port-au-Prince when it decided to prolong it for a year last month.
As per the UN human rights office, over 3,600 individuals have lost their lives because of “senseless” gang violence in Haiti this year.
