Kenya police in Haiti have mapped areas of operation – Koome

Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome has issued an update on the welfare of the Kenya police officers in Haiti following online speculation about their safety.

In a statement on Monday, Koome dismissed reports doing rounds online that the troops had suffered casualties saying they “are all safe and ready to discharge their clear and specific mandate”.

The IG described the claims online as “unfounded, false, unpatriotic and malicious”.

Reports circulating on social media claimed that seven National Police Service Officers had been killed in Haiti.

Koome said since the arrival of the officers in Haiti, they have been working closely with their host, the Haitian National Police.

He said the troops have so far undertaken strategic mapping of the key areas of operational concerns and conducted several joint patrols within the gang-controlled capital, Port-au-Prince.

“As a Service, we wish to reiterate that our mission in Haiti is a noble task for the good of our brothers and sisters of Haiti, and further appeal to fellow Kenyans to support them as they lift our national flag high, along with discharging their international policing mandate,” Koome said.

The IG said his office will issue updates to the public on the progress of the Haiti Mission.

Kenya deployed the first tranche of 400 NPS officers on June 24 after several delays and legal challenges.

The deployment came seven months after Parliament and the Cabinet approved the plan to deploy over 1000 police officers to the country.

A second team of Kenyan police will depart for Haiti in two weeks, officials revealed.

President William Ruto flagged off the first tranche as part of the 1,000 troops Kenya pledged to deploy to Haiti under the Multinational Security Support Mission.

The mission was authorised by the United Nations Security Council on October 2, 2023, under Resolution 2699.

The Kenyan officers are in Haiti to help combat marauding gangs that have held large swathes of the Caribbean country at ransom.

The Kenyan police will be joined on the mission by other teams from countries such as Chile, Jamaica, Grenada, Paraguay, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria, and Mauritius.