UN Security Council extends Kenyan police officers’ stay in Haiti for another 12 months
Kenyan police officers after their arrival in Port-au-Prince, Haiti June 25, 2024.
What you need to know:
- President Ruto’s administration is planning to send 600 additional police officers to Haiti.
- In his recent visit to Haiti, President Ruto said he was optimistic the mission would be successful.
Kenyan police officers who are in Haiti to help the government there fight armed gangs as part of a multinational force will now remain in the country for another year.
According to the Kenya National Police Service, this new development follows the UN Security Council's move to extend the mandate of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission deployed in the Caribbean country hit by anarchy.
“The UN Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the UN, has extended the present mandate of MSS mission as authorized in the resolution 2699 (2023) t October 2, 2025,” said the National Police Service on its verified X handle.
This new contract comes six days after President William Ruto landed in Haiti to assess the Kenya police mission in the Caribbean country.
The Kenyan contingent forms 40 per cent of the mission's 2,500 personnel from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad and Jamaica.
President Ruto’s administration is planning to send 600 additional police officers to Haiti to bring the total number of police officers from Kenya to 1,000 in a bid to bring peace to the troubled Port-au-Prince City and the surrounding areas.
The extension of Kenya police officers by 12 months means the UN Security Council will increase its funding and resources including military hardware to make the delicate operations of flashing out gangs successful.
In his recent visit to Haiti, President Ruto said he was optimistic the mission would be successful.
“There are many people who doubted the Haiti Mission but I’m happy today they have changed their minds on the whole mission,” said President Ruto while addressing the Kenyan police officers at their base in Port-au-Prince.
Dr Ruto, who has faced many challenges including court injunctions to stop the deployment, promised to help the Kenyan policemen get modern equipment to deal with the criminal gangs.
Before his government deployed the policemen a Court argued that the deployment would be illegal as the National Security Council lacked the legal authority to send police outside Kenya.
However, Parliament backed Haiti's mission despite the court case.
