National

Kenya mission to Haiti likely to delay again

Deputy Inspector General of Police Noor Gabow when he visited the National Police Service operation bases in Laikipia, Baragoi and Samburu North on February 14, 2023. (Photo: Administration Police)

By Mary Wambui | Wednesday, May 22, 2024

A US official says a deployment by the end of this week was impossible, for logistical reasons.

The expected deployment of the first batch of Kenyan police officers to Haiti will likely take longer because of a delay in the procurement of armoured vehicles, communication gadgets, weapons and other critical equipment.

The Miami Herald reported this on Wednesday, quoting a US official who said a deployment by the end of this week was impossible. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Keep reading

"They are running late into some stark realities in terms of equipment logistics. We are talking about vehicles, weapons and other things they are going to need off the bat, and that has not all been procured. Most of the stuff has been pulled together from a smattering of different sources," the official is quoted saying.

The official further said that some of the equipment would be delivered by the end of May, making June, the earliest deployment month.

The initial deployment had been scheduled for May 23, ahead of the consequent deployment in batches to the 2,500-member security force.

"Though the mission has been branded as a Kenya-led deployment, congressional aides say it is in practice a US-led mission with multiple actors. The United States, which has pledged $300 million in support and has been taking the lead in getting the troops to Port-Au-Print, is providing 'the overwhelming preponderance of money'," the paper reported.

Meanwhile, a delegation of six officers led by Deputy Inspector General of Police Noor Gabow, whom insiders say will be the commander of the Multinational Security Support Force, has arrived in the country to prepare for the initial batch's deployment.

Kenya remains tight-lipped on the details of the deployment, a matter that is expected to feature prominently during President William Ruto's talks with his American counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday.

The mission, though initially described as peacekeeping in nature, is an enforcement one.

The deployed officers from the Rapid Deployment Unit, the Anti-Stock Theft Unit, the General Service Unit and the Border Patrol Unit, along with their support staff, are expected to be deployed to guard key security installations.

While Kenya and Haiti have agreed on the force's rules of engagement, the paper notes that the agreement is yet to be submitted to the United Nations Security Council for the mission to get the go-ahead.

Preparations for the mission's deployment are, however, in top gear, with the official resumption of operations at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport on Monday and the construction of the camps that will host the officers.

Last week, Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Korir Sing'oei confirmed Kenya would deploy soon.

"I can tell you for sure that deployment will happen in a few days or weeks but there is no chance at all for President Ruto to go down to Port au Prince, as has been alleged," he said in an interview on Citizen TV ahead of the President's state visit to the United States.