Former police chief Noor Gabow is optimistic that he will improve the welfare of the police officers currently serving in Haiti as part of a multinational force.
Mr Gabow received the approval by Parliament on Thursday to be the next envoy to Haiti. He will now take over as Kenya’s Consul-General in Port-au-Prince.
Last year, Mr Gabow led a high-powered delegation of Kenyan official to assess the security situation in the troubled Caribbean island before the Kenyan Police could be deployed.
He returns to Haiti at a time the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission is increasingly under scrutiny in their fight against vicious gangs that control most of the capital and other parts of the country.
On Saturday, Mr Gabow told Nation.Africa that his role would include working closely with the Kenyan police in Haiti, adding that he is ready and equal to the task.
Mr Gabow also said he was relying on his experience in years of service in international missions to make sure that the Kenyan troops in Haiti deliver on their mandate.
Mr Gabow, who was previously the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Administration Police, was part of the team tasked by President William Ruto to prepare for the deployment of the Kenya Police, who were to help deal with criminal gangs in Haiti.
When he served as the DIG, Mr Gabow was the most senior police chief tasked by the President to lead security operations in North Rift at the time when the region was hit by cases of banditry.
Mr Gabow was also the police chief responsible for overseeing security at the Bomas of Kenya National tallying centre during the 2022 General elections, which at some point turned chaotic and forced police intervention.
The latest appointment marks a new chapter in Gabow’s career, having risen through the ranks from a junior police officer.
On July 12, 2024, President Ruto announced sweeping changes in the top echelons of the National Police Service.
On that occasion, President Ruto said he had accepted the resignation of Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, weeks after the start of the Gen Z protests in early June.
Mr Gabow, who had served as the DIG for seven years, was among the top police chiefs who were affected by the changes as the President announced that he had been moved to the Public Service Commission for redeployment.
Mr Douglas Kanja, who was the DIG in charge of Kenya Police, was picked for the position of the Inspector General.
A career police officer with over 36-years in service, Mr Gabow will now be the man responsible for all of Kenya’s interests in Haiti, including the welfare of the officers dealing with the criminal gangs.
In his new role, the battle-hardened police boss, will among other things, oversee the operations of the Kenyan police officers who are currently deployed to Haiti together with MSS commander Godfrey Otunge.
Besides the assault against the gangs, complaints about payments, insufficient equipment and reports of tensions between the Kenyan officers and their Haitian counterparts will continue to emerge despite Mr Otunge often being forced to issue statements denying these challenges.
Prior to his removal from the DIG position, Gabow, who has international experience having taken part in UN peace keeping missions, was the man tasked by the president to oversee the deployment of the Kenyan troops to Haiti.
Mr Otunge, from the Administration Police, and Mr David Chebii, from the General Service Unit, were later picked to lead the Kenyan officers on the ground while Mr Gabow was tasked to be the overall co-coordinator of the Kenyan troops.
At the time, he was designated to travel to New York where the overall coordination of the Haiti mission was to be conducted. This did not happen following the changes by the president.
In his new role, Mr Gabow will renew his interactions with Haitians and the Kenyan troops as a diplomat with a security background.
He takes over as the link person at a time when there have been complaints from some officers serving in Haiti over delay in payment of salaries.
On December 6, there were media reports that nearly 20 police officers from Kenya, who are currently in Haiti, had submitted letters of resignation from the mission because of pay delays and poor working conditions.
Reuter’s news agency reported that the officers who had tendered their resignation had not received a response to their letters and were still serving. However, Mr Otunge denied the reports.
