According to Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alfred Mutua, Kenya is confident that their police will manage to end the gang warfare in Haiti. He mentioned that if given the go-ahead to deploy its police by January, it would end the warfare.
In Haiti, there has been an insurgence of gang warfare that has overwhelmed the country and its police department. Last year, the country appealed for help from international countries due to the spiralling violence.
The gangs in the region have managed to control more than three-quarters of the capital. They have become more than what the police can handle and are causing harm to the citizens in the region.
After the appeal, Mutua mentioned that Kenya would send approximately 1,000 officers to Haiti. These officers would train the police officers in Haiti and equally help in the fight against the gangs in the region.
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Recently, the conversation has shifted from the officers training the police to ending the violence altogether. According to the CS, the police sent there would be an intervention that would force the disarmament of what he termed as the ‘thugs and the gangs’.
He further stated that the police would free Haitians who have been held captive by the gangs in the region. He equally mentioned that they would rescue the women who were being raped and held captive.
Reactions to Officers Being Sent to Haiti
Here in Kenya, the news of sending police officers to the region has caused an uproar. This happened after the US and Kenya signed an initiative to ensure peace in the international spaces. The President of the US, Joe Biden publicly recognised Kenya’s efforts in ending the gang war in Haiti.
Kenyans are however very critical of the decision made. Some are wondering how Keenya would manage to stop gang violence in Haiti while locally, we are still grappling with Al-Shabaab threats. They question whether there is a pressing need to have all forces in the country or in other countries.
The CS recently released a statement mentioning that Kenya was sending officers to Haiti because they asked for help from them. This was in direct response to the criticisms Kenyans expressed about the decision made.
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