Kenyan Police Tasked With Haiti Overcoming Criminal Gang Violence

Petionville, Haiti/ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Reynaldo Mirault

JAKARTA - Kenya's first Kenyan police officer assigned on a mission to tackle rampant gang violence in Haiti was immediately dispatched

Kenya volunteered in July 2023 to lead international forces to tackle violence in the Caribbean nation, where the gangs control most of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Criminal gangs in Haiti commit widespread murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault.

The deployment has been repeatedly delayed due to domestic court demands and deteriorating security in Haiti, which in March 2024 forced the acting prime minister to resign.

Four officers, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said their weapons and personal items had been collected on Sunday, June 23, evening to be put on the plane.

The initial batch of several hundred officers will be deployed before another 1,000 officers join them, the four officers said.

They plan to stop off in a third country before reaching Haiti.

A former police officer in contact with a member of the mission said the plane would depart on Tuesday, June 25.

Kenyan government spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

In addition to Kenya, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Chad, Bangladesh has promised personnel for a mission of 2,500 people, most of whom are funded by the United States.