Kenya Sends Additional 200 Police Officers to Lawless Haiti

400 Police Officers Dispatched in First Phase Last Month
Plan to Dispatch Up to 1,000 Officers Going Forward

Kenya, which has taken on the task of restoring security in the 'lawless' Haiti, has reportedly dispatched an additional 200 police officers. This comes about three weeks after the first deployment of 400 officers last month.

According to AFP on the 16th (local time), a senior Kenyan police official stated that 200 Kenyan police officers departed last night to suppress the rampant gang violence in Haiti, adding, "They are expected to arrive in Haiti this morning and join their colleagues already on the ground."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

This deployment is the second since 400 Kenyan police officers arrived in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, on the 25th of last month. Port-au-Prince is currently reported to be 80% controlled by armed gangs, including its roads and surrounding areas. Kenya plans to send a total of about 1,000 police officers to stabilize Haiti.

Earlier, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution in October last year authorizing a multinational police mission led by Kenya. However, the Kenyan High Court blocked the deployment, and the actual dispatch only took place last month. The court pointed out that the government does not have the authority to deploy regular police forces overseas and, more importantly, that there were no agreements or treaties between Kenya and Haiti.

In response, the Kenyan government signed a mutual agreement in March for the deployment of its police to Haiti, but internal controversy and conflict persist, with opposition parties filing new lawsuits to block the move. Some critics also argue that the language barrier?Kenya using English and Swahili, while Haiti uses French and Creole?may prevent Kenyan police from effectively carrying out security duties on the ground.

Kenya is currently known to be leading a multinational police force of about 2,500 personnel deployed in countries including Haiti, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad, and Jamaica.