(Nairobi) Hundreds of Kenyan police officers were leaving Monday for Haiti, where they will lead a multinational force against powerful gangs whose deadly violence has seen a sharp increase this year and helped bring about a change in government.
The deployment is controversial. The government of Kenyan President William Ruto is challenging a court ruling that it is unconstitutional. Critics have expressed concern over the long history of alleged abuse by police officers.
The 400 police officers are the first of 1,000 Kenya plans to send for the United Nations-led group in Haiti. Mr Ruto’s police send-off ceremony on Monday was closed to the media, but his office shared a speech in which he urged officers to demonstrate integrity.
“We have mediated many conflicts and are currently engaged in resolving other conflicts,” he said. Do not let go of the trust placed in you by the Kenyan people and the international community. »
A lawsuit aimed at blocking the deployment is underway, but an initial ruling had called the deployment unconstitutional, citing the lack of a reciprocal agreement between Kenya and Haiti.
US President Joe Biden, however, thanked Mr Ruto for Kenya being a leader in the multinational group during William Ruto’s recent state visit to Washington. The United States agreed to contribute $300 million to the force, but Biden argued that a US troop presence in Haiti would raise “all kinds of questions that can easily be distorted.”
More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in the first three months of the year in Haiti. The surge in violence began in late February and has displaced more than half a million people. Gangs now control at least 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and several main roads. Stuck outside the country following the closure of the international airport, Prime Minister Ariel Henry was forced to resign.
The most recent allegations by watchdogs against Kenyan police of excessive use of force came last week, when two people died during anti-government protests. One protester was shot dead by a police officer allegedly in plainclothes. The other was killed by a tear gas canister fired by police.
Kenya’s Independent Police Oversight Authority is investigating police behavior during protests in which more than 200 other people were injured.