Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille has praised the conduct of Kenyan police officers operating in his country, months after their arrival to help restore peace in the troubled Caribbean nation.
Dr Conille described the presence of the Kenyan police as invaluable and commended their dedication and selflessness in assisting Haiti’s efforts to regain stability.
“The presence of the two contingents of Kenyan forces have been of invaluable use in terms of supporting our police force” the PM said.
“We've learned from their own experience, we've learned from their professionalism, and they will continue to be an incredible asset as Haiti faces one of the most dangerous times in its history,” he said.
In two batches, Kenya has sent already 396 Kenyan police officers to help secure Haiti, with another 600 expected to join their colleagues in the UN-backed mission to restore law and order in the gang-ridden nation.
The deployed officers were drawn from the General Service Unit (GSU), Special Units, and the Border Patrol Unit (BPU).
These contingents, by flying over 7000 miles away from their home country, Dr Conille said, they have sacrificed and for that, the Haitians are grateful.
“It's not always easy to make this decision. Where others saw crisis, Kenyan leadership saw opportunity. Where others saw aid for fatigue, Kenyan leadership saw hope,” he explained.
The Haiti PM was speaking Saturday when he visited the Administration Police Training College (APTC) Embakasi Nairobi where he interacted with the next batch of 600 police officers ahead of their deployment to Port-au-Prince. He was accompanied by Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and other high-ranking police officers.
The transitional Prime Minister arrived in the country on Thursday for a four-day visit for talks centered on his country’s security, as gangs continue to reign havoc in Haiti.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja (left) and Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille arrive at the Administration Police Training College in Embakasi, Nairobi on October 12, 2024.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
“I'm here today to discuss not only how well the operation is going, what we've learned from the past four months, [but also] what will be required for us to eventually win this, because the ultimate goal is for the Kenyan and the forces that are there, and not just Kenyan forces are able to leave, but leave a Haiti that has the capacity to deal with its security issues,” Dr Conille said.
He added that he had held “incredible meetings with the President [Wiliam Ruto] himself, with the team involved in the support of the Haitian diaspora living here, and obviously with his police leadership here.”
According to the Haitian PM, Kenyan leadership have shown that Haitians are as deserving of the support of the international community as women, men, and children everywhere in the world.
“And we're very grateful, not just for the direct support in terms of manpower in the Haiti situation but also the leadership role that Kenya has played in mobilising the international community in sensitising the international community to the situation in Haiti,” he added.
An additional 600 police officers undergoing training will be deployed to Haiti in November as part of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, President William Ruto announced Friday. But the Kenyan-led mission in Haiti lacks enough budget to run its activities until October 2025.
Dr Ruto who was speaking after meeting Dr Conille sent out an appeal to the international community to pump in more resources to help restore peace in the gang-infested country.
“We have a budget that takes us to March next year, in terms of being able to support our officers on the ground including those joining next month to have adequate resources,” President Ruto said during a press conference held in State House Nairobi on Friday.
Nairobi and Port-au-Prince, President Ruto said, were jointly calling on the international community to rally behind the mission urgently.
“Words and pledges must be matched by concrete action. We therefore strongly implore our global partners to accelerate their contribution to the personnel, logistics and financial resources necessary to sustain and expand the mission,” he said.
The Haiti mission was to end this October but the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2751 (2024) extended it for another year, which, according to President Ruto,“ signals strong global support”.
Saturday, Dr Conille said several countries, including EU countries, had made commitments to increase their funding to the basket fund that supports that mission.
“And we're out there right now talking to governments all over the world, explaining why this is important and why it's urgent. We're quite confident that the level of resources required to actually ensure that we can support the Haitian people are really insignificant when you compare it to the other expenditures that are happening worldwide,” he explained on Saturday.
“I think it's important that the press help us remind people all over the world that Haitian children are not less deserving.”
Kenya is the lead country in the ongoing security mission and, according to President Ruto, there has been immense progress in restoring peace in Haiti.
The Kenyan officers usually hold operations alongside those attached to the Haiti National Police (HNP) and, jointly, have managed to recapture key sites such as the general hospital, the port and the National Palace which were being controlled by gangs.
President Ruto said that the Kenyan officers had conducted themselves well in Haiti and have respected human rights.
“This is a battle we can win if our friends stand resolutely in solidarity with Haiti. I urge our officers to remain steadfast in discharging their responsibilities,” Dr Ruto said Friday.
