This collosal El Chapo misadventure that is killing and wounding a lot of our Cops is now at a crossroads.
Will the Kenyan-led Police mission in Haiti be replaced..???
Before the unique mission can get off the ground , a funding and troop strength crisis could see it soon replaced by a traditional UN-led operation.
Mission Objective :
In October 2023 , the United Nations Security Council authorised a Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti , after a request for assistance by the country’s government and civil society representatives.
Led by Kenya , the 12 month international Police service mission aims to help Haitian police restore law and order amid worsening civil strife and gang violence that has plagued the country since 2018.
( ..the premise here is that it would take 12 months to complete this gargantuan task and restore Law and Order..
Anyone here remember Vietnam , Afghanistan or Somalia..??
).
Between January and May 2024 , gang violence killed around 3 000 people and left over half a million homeless.
Widespread destruction of property and displacement have weakened governance and public security.
An estimated 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince is under gang militia control , and violence has spread to various parts of the country.
Kenya deployed 400 of its pledged 1 000 police officers in June and July 2024. President William Ruto says the remaining 600 are undergoing training and will join soon.
The Kenyan contingent forms 40% of the mission’s required 2 500 personnel from the Bahamas , Bangladesh , Barbados , Belize , Benin , Chad and Jamaica.
Jamaica recently sent 20 soldiers and four policemen out of its 200 pledged personnel.
Strategy change :
Amid these deployments, however, it seems the United States and Ecuador have proposed replacing the Kenya-led mission with a more traditional UN-led peacekeeping operation.
While the US Biden administration backed this mission , the incumbent Trump MAGA establishment ( ..and Elon Musk DOGE ..) has immediately frozen all funding and support.
This has negatively affected the Mission’s performance and lowered morale among the personnel already deployed in Haiti , who will be in limbo during the transition.
The mission was received in Haiti with a mix of hope and cynicism.
Between 2004-17, the UN peacekeeping operation in the country was marred by allegations of sexual assault , STD pandemics and the introduction of cholera , which killed nearly 10 000 people.
As a result , perceptions and expectations of Kenya’s police have been mixed.
Since Kenyan police arrived in the country , frustrations among Haitians have grown due to the perceived slow progress against gangsterism.
In addition to logistical and administrative hurdles in mobilising and training the police, Kenya faced legal and political obstacles.
A Kenyan court case challenging the deployment’s legality on constitutional and procedural grounds caused delays.
Public Generation Z protests in mid-2024 over domestic political issues and security threats intensified the debate over whether resources for the Haiti mission could be better used to address Kenya’s own internal security needs.
Many logistical and financial arrangements are still outstanding , and preparations in Haiti to receive the remaining police officers haven’t yet been completed.
The slow construction of residential barracks for example , is holding up the deployment of Kenya’s remaining 600 police officers.
Only US$85 million of the mission’s required target voluntary contributions of US$600 million has been pledged so far.
And the Lion’s share promised by the USA has now been frozen by Elon Musk and DOGE.
Communication barriers with Haiti’s French-speaking community , logistics , air support and a lack of adequate armoured personnel carriers have also created difficulties.
All this means the mission is close to ending its initial one-year period without an effective presence or achievements – possibly contributing to the US and Ecuador’s proposal to replace it.
The UN Security Council is expected to decide on the mission’s future at the beginning of October 2025.
Sources believe the mission could be extended until 30 June 2025 , and then transformed into a UN peacekeeping mission between July and September 2025.
Meanwhile..
The body bags keep coming..
Get your drink and popcorn ready..
This will be interesting to watch..
