Kenyan police officers in Haiti resign due to unpaid salaries

According to three officers who spoke to Reuters, during the past two months, about 20 of the around 400 Kenyan police officers on a U.N.-backed anti-gang force in Haiti have submitted letters of resignation from the mission due to bad working conditions and pay delays.

The three officers, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not permitted to speak to the media, stated that they have not heard back from anybody regarding their letters and are still serving on the Multinational Security Support (MSS) operation.

Calls and texts for comment regarding the resignation letters, salary delays, and working conditions were not answered by Kenya’s national police spokeswoman.

At a news conference on Wednesday, national police director Douglas Kanja responded to accusations of pay delays in Kenyan media by stating that the officers had received their salaries “until the end of October.”

This was denied by the three cops, who claimed that their last payment was in September.

Since June, Kenya has sent about 400 officers to command the MSS, which is supposed to include 2,500 troops from roughly ten nations. However, the force has been hindered by a lack of finance and personnel.

Only a small number of officers from the other nations have reached Haiti, and Kenyan President William Ruto’s October promise to send an additional 600 officers the following month has not been fulfilled.

The three officers told Reuters that after attempting to leave orally and being instructed to put their requests in writing, coworkers started to submit letters of resignation in October.

In October, three officers turned in their resignation letters, and in November, another fifteen or so. At least five senior officers were among them, including a unit commander who, according to them, was the first to send a letter in October.

WORSENS GANG VIOLENCE

Armed organizations last month expanded into some of the last areas of the capital Port-au-Prince that were not already under their control, adding to the gang violence that has murdered thousands of people throughout Haiti over the previous two years.

According to one cop, he was “tormented by scenes like dogs eating human flesh on the streets” and was unprepared for what he saw in Haiti.

Additionally, the policemen claimed that they lacked sufficient weaponry to combat the gangs’ increased attacks on Kenyan police posts.

Morale problems have plagued the expedition almost from the beginning.
In September, four policemen told Reuters that they were experiencing shortages of personnel and equipment, as well as delays in their pay. The great majority of the mission’s funding has come from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who has also been advocating for the mission to become a U.N. peacekeeping force in order to diversify and support it.

China and Russia, however, have objected, saying that the MSS mission should be given more time to bring about peace before a peacekeeping force is sent in.

Last month, Haiti’s national transitional council ousted the prime minister it had nominated six months prior and installed Alix Didier Fils-Aime as the new leader, dealing a further blow to political stability.