A first group of 400 Kenyan police officers left Nairobi Monday evening to participate in an international mission aimed at restoring security in Haiti, the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS). This first group of Kenyan police officers flew out at 10:50 p.m. (7:50 p.m. GMT) from Nairobi on a Kenya Airways plane. President William Ruto visited them a few hours before their departure, and presented them with a Kenyan national flag.
I am honored to say goodbye to the first group of the National Police Service contingent taking part in the historic United Nations mission in Haiti
, Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said in a statement. Kenya has proposed sending a thousand police officers to Haiti for the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS), planned for an initial duration of one year and to which Bangladesh, Benin, Chad must also contribute , the Bahamas and Barbados.
The deployment of Kenya’s police force was approved by a UN Security Council resolution in October 2023, but the plan has drawn strong criticism in Kenya. The mission was delayed when, on January 26, a Kenyan court ruled that the government could not send police officers abroad without prior international agreement.
Kenya signed an agreement to this effect with Haiti in March. But the small opposition party Third Way Alliance
filed a new appeal in mid-May to prevent the mission.
Visiting Washington on May 24, however, President William Ruto assured: It’s up to me to make this decision. It is up to the Kenyan people to commit their own troops [en Haïti]. We followed the procedures […] we have a clear mandate.
Police criticized
This deployment comes as the local police are under fire for having been heavy-handed during the latest demonstrations against the high cost of living and the imposition of new taxes. Two protesters were killed last week.
Other rallies and parades are expected this Tuesday. In Nairobi, clashes were reported between police and demonstrators. Kenyan police have been accused of serious human rights violations in the past.
