Somali Magazine – The Kenyan government is likely to be far away from accepting the Haiti offer of deploying about 1000 police officers to engage the Haiti gangs that continue to butcher innocent people and undermine peace in the Caribbean countries.
On Thursday, the government announced that it has no capacity to send its reinforcement team until proper guidelines like training and funding are met in line with last month’s approval from the U.N. Security Council that suggested to give the eastern African country command of a multinational mission.
“Unless all resources are mobilised and available, our troops will not leave the country”, said Kenya Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki while appearing before the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security in parliament.
CS Kindiki further claimed that Kenya is among the U.N. member states and normally, funds are consolidated for international emergencies like the Haiti case, but since the U.N Security Council requested the reinforcement, it has never set clear when the forces would be fully trained and funded to allow for deployment.
Based on a petition filed by Kenyan former presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot that argued the deployment of police was unconstitutional, a High Court judge was expected to rule out the petition on Thursday but rescheduled for November 6. Subsequently, Kenya’s parliament will also be expected to approve the deployment.
Pierre Espérance, executive director of the Haitian National Human Rights Defence Network, commented that even with the deployment of Kenyan forces, it won’t change the current situation in Haiti, adding that Haiti’s government has long been linked to gangs, hence compounding the problem.
“The biggest problem right now in Haiti is the absence of the government and rule of law, and all key state institutions have collapsed, even the police,” he said. “How will the force be able to operate in Haiti if we don’t have a functional government?”
Haitian gangs have been involved in clobbering about 32 Haitian police officers this year, killing a mass of Haitians and kidnapping minors and adults.
The U.N.’s International Organisation for Migration reported this week that nearly 2,500 people were displaced from the coastal town of Mariani by the armed gang.
A U.N. report reveals that about 1,230 people were killed and 701 kidnapped across Haiti from July 1 to September 30. This is, however, a double figure compared to last year’s report.
A Wednesday report from Haiti’s Superior Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes shows that four of its employees were kidnapped in the capital, Port-au-Prince, forcing the agency to temporarily postpone all hearings.
Insecurity in Haiti has continued to paralyse various activities, leaving many Haitians in fear of their lives.
“In a country where security is not a priority for the government, each time you go out, you don’t know if you’re going to be shot at,” said Mario Volcy, a 40-year-old construction worker.
He added that “these guys have machine guns in their hands…, They could surprise you by doing something crazy and dumb.”
In Haiti, transportation fees are reported to have spiked as drivers are mandated to pay the gangs on the roads for safe travel.