The deployment of the first Kenyan police officers to Haiti to lead an international anti-gang force was delayed after a planned flight from Nairobi was postponed on Tuesday, two sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.
US authorities had previously indicated that the police would be in Port-au-Prince on Thursday to coincide with Kenyan President William Ruto’s state visit to the White House.
Speaking at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden, Ruto reiterated Kenya’s commitment to sending the officers to Haiti, without giving a specific date.
Kenya volunteered in July to lead the mission, but its deployment was repeatedly delayed due to lawsuits by opponents of the government’s plan and a surge in violence in March that led to the prime minister Haitian to resign.
The mission, which will number up to 2,500 people, is intended to combat gangs that control most of Port-au-Prince and have committed large-scale murders, kidnappings and sexual violence.
Kenya has pledged to contribute 1,000 police officers to the UN-approved mission, the bulk of which is funded by the United States.
“Kenya believes that the responsibility for peace and security anywhere in the world, including in Haiti, lies with all nations,” Ruto said at the press conference with Biden.
Two hundred Kenyan officers assigned to the mission were informed that they would leave Nairobi on Tuesday evening, said the two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to divulge sensitive information.
