Mission to Haiti ongoing, officers to be drawn from all cadres
National
By
Kamore Maina
| Mar 07, 2024
Days after President William Ruto and Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry witnessed the signing of a security deal between the two countries to deploy police officers to the island nation, details have emerged of the level of preparation going on despite an earlier court decision.
On Friday, the Haitian PM met the President at State House, Nairobi. Among the issues discussed include fast-tracking the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to the Caribbean nation.
Said Ruto: "I take this opportunity to reiterate Kenya's commitment to contribute to the success of this multi-national mission. We believe this is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for the world as a whole."
Haiti PM Henri thanked Ruto and Kenya for offering to lead the security mission. On Wednesday, sources familiar with the planning of the deployment said the team to be deployed to Haiti has already been identified.
They said officers from GSU, AP Rapid Deployment Unit and Anti-stock theft are some of the police formations where officers to be deployed to Haiti, are being drawn from.
Officers from these units are considered more adept at dealing with violent situations in dangerous terrains.
There is a proposal to send both men and women to the operation. The sources said GSU boss Eliud Lagat and DIG Noor Gabow are the two senior police chiefs tasked to oversee the recruitment of officers for the Haiti mission.
The officers will be picked from all cadres, which include junior officers and their commanders across the ranks. According to officials, the team leading the affair has since agreed that Kenyan officers will don jungle green uniforms while in Haiti.
On the choice of weapons, the organisers have agreed that the team will use their AK47 rifles as the main combating weapons.
Department of Peace Operations, the multinational force in Haiti will be overseen by Kenya, although its forces are there with UN authorisation, which gives the intervention the backing of international law.
Chile, Jamaica, Grenada, Paraguay, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria and Mauritius are among the countries that have confirmed the deployment of their officers to Haiti.
In December, a high-powered delegation from Haiti arrived in Nairobi on a fact-finding mission on the preparations by Kenyan officers.
The team was led by the Director General of the Haitian National Police, Frantz Elbe and the Director of Criminal Investigations in Haiti, Frederic Leconte.