Kenya, the Nation has established, plans to deploy a hundred high ranking police officers to the peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
Out of the 1,000 National Police Service (NPS) officers, 900 will be from the Formed Police Unit (FPU). The Kenyan team to the Haiti mission will be headed by the mission commander in the rank of the Assistant Inspector of Police (AIG) and above.
Apart from the AIG, those to be deployed from the NPS headquarters in the rank of commission of police will be the chief of operations, chief of staff and chief of logistics.
The other 96 senior ranking officers, still from vigilance team, will be in charge of Statcom, intelligence, investigations and other technical agencies.
From the FPU command, there will be five senior superintendents of police to command the unit, while five others in the same rank will deputise them.
Twenty-five officers will be deployed to the support services office, police intelligence office, OPS office, liaison office and deputy office, with each office having five.
There will also be five platoon commanders, each with five chief inspectors of police, translating to 25 officers and a similar number as deputies.
Additionally, there will be five platoon sergeants/regimental sergeants major with sergeants and senior sergeants, totalling 25, and 27 section commanders with each having five FPUs, translating to 135 corporals and 655 constables.
According to the report, officers have the option of rejecting the deployment offer. The United Nations will provide insurance for the officers as well compensation for any harm suffered.
Haitian security forces lob tear gas cannisters to disperse demonstrators who were protesting against the rising crime wave in Carrefour-Feuilles, a district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in mid August.
Photo credit: AFP
The report noted that the security mission to Haiti will last for an initial period of 12 months, with a review slated for nine months after the adoption of the resolution.
The budget breakdown is as follows: Training $1.5 million; administrative support $157 million; weapons, ammunition and anti-riot equipment $9.1million; transport $127.6 million; technical equipment $1.9 million; and general equipment $3.2 million.
In the report tabled in the National Assembly on Wednesday and the Senate yesterday, the committee observed that the cost of implementing the operation will be borne by the United Nations and in strict compliance with the international laws.
The report guarantees that the deployment of the officers will not compromise the capacity of the service to continue fulfilling its mandate to Kenyans.
But, even as the government outlined its strategy, a showdown is looming in the Senate ahead of the debate on the deployment, with key concerns being the legal framework and active court cases challenging it.
Although, the motion sailed through in the National Assembly despite Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma, a member of the committee, registering his dissenting opinion, it appears there are more hurdles ahead.
A man holds a pvc pipe as tires burn during a protest against insecurity, on August 7, 2023, near the Prime Minister's official house in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Photo credit: Richard Pierrin | AFP
Surprisingly, despite the hue and cry from the Opposition, civil society groups and other institutions, they snubbed the public hearings as the committee received only one memorandum from the Mau Mau War Veterans Association and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki by the close of the submissions.
Majority of the Opposition MPs, led by Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi and Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu, registered their protests, saying, the approval by the House amounts to sub judice as the matter is active in court.
Mr Wandayi argued that the petition by Thirdway Alliance Party and two others was still active before court and an extension on the conservatory orders made.
A man wears a werewolf mask during a protest against insecurity, on August 7, 2023, near the Prime Minister's official house in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Photo credit: Courtesy | AFP
“Are we not using our officers as guinea pigs? I reject this ill-advised motion; I reject it in totality. I want to appeal to my colleagues to reject this motion,” Mr Wandayi said. But the government side led by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah insisted that the Standing Orders allows the Speaker to admit consideration of any matter before the House.
“Our standing orders does not stop us from discussing this matter so long as we do not go into the substance of the case. It is not sub judice,” he said.
Mr Ruto’s request now depends on the Senate after National Security, Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee chair William Cheptumo yesterday issued a notice of motion to debate the joint committee report.
