Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille has requested the Kenyan government to deploy a second batch of police officers to support the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
In a statement, Inspector-General of Police Japhet Koome revealed that Conille made the request during a security briefing to the United Nations Security Council earlier this week.
“During the security brief to the UN Security Council this week, the Prime Minister called for the deployment of additional Kenyan police officers in Haiti, expressing his optimism that the MSS team will control the gangs,” Koome stated.
The request comes two weeks after Kenya sent the initial 400 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation.
Kenya initially deployed 400 police officers on June 24 as part of the 1000 -member contingent that completed pre-deployment training.
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Further, Koome explained that the Kenyan police officers had embarked on joint operational, logistical, and induction training with their Haitian National Police counterparts.
Kenya is expected to be joined by at least six other countries in the MSS mission, which was approved by the United Nations in October 2023.
Other nations including Benin, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, and Chad have pledged to join the mission.
While some Kenyans support the mission in Haiti, others question why their country is leading the multinational force, especially when more powerful and better-equipped nations have not stepped forward.
