By Grace Gilo
The Inspector General of the National Police, Gilbert Masengeli, has issued an update on the Haiti Mission.
As of August 26, 2024, it has been two months since the first deployment of the Kenya Police Contingent to the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) to Haiti in Port-au-Prince.
According to the IG, although still in its deployment phase, the MSS team is making notable strides through collaboration with the Haiti National Police and the resilient citizens of Haiti.
As a result, the MSS has successfully mitigated threats to public safety and security, regained control of essential infrastructure, including the airport, from gang influence, and reopened vital roads, facilitating the return of thousands of displaced Haitians.
“Consequently, MSS has managed to pacify threats to public safety and security, taken over critical infrastructure including the airport, from gang control, and opened up critical roads that have enabled the return of thousands of Haitians earlier displaced,” stated the IG.
The National Police Service (NPS) is also working very closely with other countries, partners and the United Nations to ensure continued support to the MSS.
Additionally, he stated that the NPS officers continue to receive their salaries, and the processing of their deployment allowances for the MSS has been completed.
“In the meantime, NPS Officers continue to draw their NPS salaries and the processing of their MSS deployment allowances has also been finalized,” he added.
“As a Service, we wish to commend the MSS Force Commander, Mr. Godfrey Otunge, SAIG and his team for their patriotism and dedication to duty, and wish them success in their Mission to restore peace and stability in Haiti,” the Inspector General expressed.
This comes after the United States and France have delivered new mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) MaxxPros armoured vehicles to the Kenyan police in Haiti. These will further enhance MSS operations to secure Haiti from violent gangs causing untold suffering for Haitians.