Editor's Review

The third contingent of officers was flagged off by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.

Kenya has deployed another cohort of law enforcers to Haiti on Saturday evening, January 18.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen flagged off the contingent, the third one since Kenya committed to helping restore peace in the Caribbean country.

Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen flagged off the officers on Saturday evening, January 18.

The additional 217 officers add to the more than 600 already deployed. 

Read More

  1. Police Allegedly Shoot Dead 14-Year-Old Linked to Criminal Gang
  2. Young Man's Body Found Dumped in Kiambu
  3. Murkomen Reveals Millions Kenya Paid to Host the African Grammy Awards Centre

The deployment came months after the United Nations Security Council extended the mandate of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission deployed in Haiti to fight anarchy.

As borne in resolution 2699 (2023), the mission's stay in the Carribean was to end at the end of October 2024.

In an update, the Kenyan National Police Service revealed the mission had been extended by a year to early October 2025.

The officers on the ground will be required to update the Security Council regularly on the progress of the mission.

The officers left Kenya for Haiti on Saturday evening.

Further, the UN Security Council hinted at its intent to consider a UN Peace Operation to reinforce the Haitian National Police to maintain order and sustain the gains realised by the MSS mission.

President William Ruto had expressed his intention to engage world leaders to strategise for the success of the mission and perhaps make it a full-time peace-keeping mission.

Speaking at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024, Ruto observed that the mission's main challenge was the inadequacy of funds and equipment.

He called on international partners to intervene and offer the necessary support.

The mission aimed at stationing 2,500 officers by January 2025 to restore peace and order in the country.

Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja said goodbye to the officers.

The MSS mission, backed by the United Nations, was deployed to Haiti to arrest lawlessness characterised by gang violence and establish security to allow a conducive environment for free and fair elections in future.

The mission managed to recapture a host of critical installations from the gangs, including the State University Hospital of Haiti (HUEH) and the country's main international airport.

Officers from Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bahamas, and Belize are also constituting the MSS mission.