Second batch of Kenyan police officers lands in Haiti in style

A second batch of Kenya police to Haiti landed in Port-au-Prince in style in readiness to help fight gangs that had almost overrun the Caribbean nation.

The team of 200 well-trained landed aboard a UN chartered flight and was received by Director General of the Haitian National Police Normil Rameau and Multinational Security Support Mission commander Godfrey Otunge on July 16.

At the same time, the commanders met six members of a team from Jamaica who were on an assessment tour before deploying their officers for the MSS mission.

According to officials, the team pledged to send their personnel soonest possible.

MSS is an international police force approved by the United Nations Security Council on October 2, 2023, to assist the government of Haiti in restoring law and order amid worsening civil strife and gang violence since 2018.

Otunge thanked Kenya for the steady support for the mission.

“We also thank local and international organizations, police contributing countries, the media and all people of goodwill for supporting the MSS mission. We count on your support,” he said.

He said the local team is already working with the contingent on the ground and pledged they will continue to realize the fruits of the joint efforts that are geared towards enabling Haiti to regain its stability and become an economic powerhouse.

“The arrival of the additional contingent is a huge reinforcement to the MSS mission and will go a long way in building the capacity of the Haitian Police to curb the activities of the gangs,” said Otunge.

“I wish to also notify you of the presence of an advance pre-deployment assessment team by the Caribbean Community who in due course are expected to join the MSS.”

Otunge urged for continued support of the MSS and HNP efforts aimed at re-establishing lasting peace and stability in the Nation of Haiti.

The team joined an advanced one that had arrived in Haiti on June 25 and embarked on rescue missions.

After weeks of planning and learning on the ground, the team helped the Haitian police recapture a national hospital that had been occupied by gangs there.

Haiti's newly selected Prime Minister Garry Conille and Haiti's police chief visited the country's largest hospital on Tuesday, July 9, after authorities said they took control of the medical institution on July 7 from armed gangs.

Conille said the hospital served about 1,500 people a day before the gang's chokehold.

The attacks from criminal groups have pushed Haiti's health system to the brink of collapse and the escalating violence has led to a surge in patients with serious illnesses and a shortage of resources to treat them.

Gangs have been looting, setting fires and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital, where they control up to 80 per cent of the area.

Haiti's health care system, already struggling before the violence, faces additional challenges from the rainy season, which is likely to worsen conditions and increase the risk of water-borne diseases.

Poor hygiene conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to a UNICEF report.

Besides the hospital, gunmen have seized police stations, attacked the main international airport (which was closed for nearly three months), and stormed Haiti's two largest prisons.

According to a report from the U.N. migration agency, the violence in Haiti has displaced nearly 580,000 people since March.

But since the arrival of Kenyan police, the police had also managed to recapture the Gressier Police Station and security officers had taken control of several areas.

Rameau further revealed the development of new strategies to track down criminals and enhance citizen security with the help of Kenyan officers and local authorities.

"The community must understand that the period of leniency is over and we are actively working to restore security," he said.

"With the support of the MSS and the entire HNP, we are regaining lost territory and ensuring that security is a national priority."

Apart from Kenya, other countries that have pledged to send officers to Haiti include Benin, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Algeria, Canada and France.