Kenya police deployed to Haiti have restored order in several towns in the troubled Caribbean nation.
President William Ruto said the team has intensified patrols in major cities to contain crime in general.
“National Police officers under the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti intensify patrols in major cities of the gang troubled nation. Order has been restored in several towns and residents are grateful for the police intervention,” he said in a post on his social media accounts.
It was his first comment since the new team of 217 officers landed in Haiti on January 18.
A new team of 217 joined those from Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Bahamas, and Belize for the operations.
The MSS Mission, headquartered in Port-au-Prince, is an international operation led by Kenya authorized by the United Nations Security Council to assist the Haiti National Police in restoring peace, law and order amid threats of criminal gangs and violence.
There are now 600 Kenya police officers in Haiti and 200 more will join them on January 26, officials said.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the MSS team and those from Haiti National Police have jointly accelerated efforts to ensure a reduction in crime and violence and promote a more secure environment.
“The reopening of schools and colleges on the 2nd October 2024 and the subsequent reopening of courts on the 7th October 2024 is a testament to the improved security conditions, despite the ongoing threat by gangs.”
“Civilian protection focus has ensured increased seizure of harmful exposure like drug, arms, and ammunition by the police and are an indication of efforts to cut off the major funding sources for gangs,” he said.
He added the team has conducted education on responsible and lawful behavior through community engagement forums.
These programs help in fostering a more cooperative environment between security agencies and the civilian population.
Murkomen said the team has prioritized the protection of children and educational institutions.
Sensitization and outreach programs to discourage gang affiliation have been consistently carried out, ensuring children’s safety and promoting educational
continuity.
MSS is supporting the HNP in securing the Police
School with a four-month fast –truck basic training of 747 cadets which began on 27th august 2024 and whose trainees successfully graduated on January 10, 2025.
Murkomen said major gangs have been destabilized.
“It is a sobering perspective that Peace Keeping calls on our collective empathy for fellow human beings and it is our prayer that as a continent we will discover a system in which peace is more rewarding than war. When we are talking about human dignity, that should be without borders.”
“Kenya remains committed to the global community and citizens of Haiti and will support the mission by deployment of more officers from various Units within the Service including GSU, Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), and the all- female Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT),” he said.
To president Ruto, it was a plus for the team to fly to Haiti after months of waiting.
Ruto’s uncertainties about the mission’s fate seems to were put to rest, at last for now, following last week’s comments from President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio lauded Kenya for its leadership of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, and signaled continued U.S. support.
Rubio’s comments were immediately noticed and on Saturday at 2 a.m. Kenya time, Murkomen and his team waved the new contingent off as they boarded a Kenya Airways aircraft from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
In November, three U.S. jetliners flying over Port-au-Prince’s airspace were hit by gunfire, fueling concerns about the safety of the capital’s skies.
The 217 Kenyan cops will join 400 of their compatriots already in Port-au-Prince.
Their presence boosts the total number of foreign security personnel to just under 800.
There are currently police and military officers from Jamaica, along with soldiers from The Bahamas, Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Last year, Haiti saw a record number of neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas fall to armed gangs, despite the presence of foreign forces and a new U.S.-backed transition government.
As the gangs took over neighborhoods and carried out some of the worst massacres in recent memory, they also deepened the country’s humanitarian crisis as tens of thousands more Haitians were forced to flee their homes.
The United Nations said more than 5,600 people were killed by gang violence last year, an increase over the previous two years, and over 1 million Haitians are now displaced.
Kenya promised 1,000 police officers as part of its offer to lead the mission.
After repeated delays, including a court battle in Nairobi and congressional Republican opposition in Washington, cops began deploying in June 2024.
But the under-resourced and underfunded effort has struggled to make inroads against armed groups.
As part of a shift in strategy, gangs have consolidated under an alliance known as Viv Ansanm, Living Together, overwhelming both the Kenyan-led force and Haitian police.
To address the money issue, the Biden administration has asked the U.N. Security Council to transform the mission into a formal U.N. peacekeeping operation, which would guarantee funding through members’ assessed contributions and allow the force to expand and get the needed equipment.
Whether this is something the Trump administration will support remains unclear.
During Trump’s first term in office, a U.N. peacekeeping force was on its way out of Haiti, and despite concerns the country wasn’t ready to take control of its own security, the administration did not stop the move.
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