Haiti will get Kenyan police this week, according to the US State Department

The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that the first Kenyan police personnel deployed to address the widespread gang violence in Haiti are scheduled to depart Kenya on Tuesday and arrive this week.

A spokesman for the State Department, Matthew Miller, told reporters, “We hope to see further measurable improvements in security, particularly with respect to access to humanitarian aid and core economic activity.”

Kenya offered its leadership of an international force to combat violence in the Caribbean country in July 2023. Gangs in the country have taken control of most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and have committed several homicides, kidnappings, and acts of sexual violence.

Court challenges and a decline in Haitian security have caused the deployment to be repeatedly postponed; in March, the interim prime minister was forced to resign.

Four cops stated their personal items and firearms had been gathered on Sunday night and transported onto the aircraft. They asked not to be identified since they were not authorized to talk in public.

A request for response from the Kenyan government spokesperson was not answered.

At a ceremony on Monday, Kenyan President William Ruto said farewell to 400 officers who will be the first group to deploy to Haiti.

“In the annals of international solidarity, this expedition ranks among the most crucial, significant, and momentous. Ruto stated, “It is a mission to stand up for humanity and to affirm the universal values of the community of nations.”

The four officers stated that later on, another detachment of about 600 officers will join the initial group. They stated that before arriving in Haiti, they planned to make a stop in a third nation.

The mission, which has 2,500 members and is mainly supported by the United States, has received personnel pledges from Kenya, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Chad, and Bangladesh.