Mission officials appear keen to avoid the scandals that occurred during the last UN mission
The 400 Kenyan officers already in Haiti are prohibited from speaking to the press, consuming alcohol, buying food outside the base or leaving the base for personal reasons, an official source close to the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS) reveals to AyiboPost.
Any individual contact with outsiders is strictly forbidden. Police officers do not receive friendly visits.
They are not prohibited from using mobile phones.
But for security and confidentiality reasons, police officers are not allowed to publish photos or videos of themselves on mission on social networks, except for those that have been officially released by the communications office, continues the source met by AyiboPost.
Kenyan police officers enjoy their free time at their base in Clercine.
More than a month after the landing of the first contingent of Kenyans in Haiti, insecurity continues to plague Port-au-Prince and several provincial towns.
The government has declared a state of security emergency in fourteen communes in the departments of Ouest and Artibonite.
An attack carried out by the Canaan bandits, led by a certain Jeff Gwo Lwa, on the afternoon of August 6 in the communes of Arcahaie and Cabaret, left around ten people dead.
In its partial report, presented fifteen days after this proclamation, the Haitian police announced that they had killed 104 bandits and seized nineteen weapons and nine vehicles during operations carried out in the West and Artibonite.
During this same period, the 400 Mawozo gang attacked the commune of Ganthier.
On July 21, the gang’s attacks on this town of 60,000 inhabitants forced nearly 6,000 people to flee their homes.
More than a month after the landing of the first contingent of Kenyans in Haiti, insecurity continues to plague Port-au-Prince and several provincial towns.
Other attacks took place in Gressier and in Artibonite.
On July 30, Haitian and Kenyan police forces announced that they had conducted an operation in the commune of Ganthier to repel the bandits.
A day later, the gangs returned. On August 4, they set fire to a PNH armored vehicle, after having destroyed the local police station a week earlier.
On the same day, a boat leaving Port-au-Prince, carrying passengers from the National Port Authority to Miragoâne, was attacked by armed men.
Two people were injured.
The last intervention The international armed conflict in Haiti was led by the United Nations between 2004 and 2017. UN soldiers temporarily pacified the country, but introduced cholera, killing more than 10,000 citizens. They were also implicated in dozens of cases of human rights violations and sexual violence.
Read also: Looking back on 15 years of UN failures in Haiti
The Kenyan force seems to want to learn lessons from this intervention.
An internal regulation provides for sanctions such as suspension, isolation, and possibly permanent return to Kenya of offenders.
The police officers participate in regular intensive training sessions and joint training with the Haitian National Police (PNH) at the police academy.
Kenyan police are “fully engaged” in this first phase of the mission known as the pre-deployment phase, which will last until September 2024, according to the official source.
An internal regulation provides for sanctions such as suspension, isolation, and possibly permanent return to Kenya of offenders.
To date, 400 Kenyan police officers are operating in their base located in Clercine under the command of Godfrey Otunge.
New troops are expected in Port-au-Prince in a context where the Haitian and Kenyan authorities complain about the lack of equipment for these reinforcements.
Preparations to welcome the new troops are progressing, the source said.
Jamaica and El Salvador are among the countries that have already come to Haiti as a prelude to the deployment of their police officers in the country.
Read also: Full agreement signed with Kenya for multinational force
Work days are planned one day in advance.
In the camp, the troops are divided into sections. Each section is led by a commander.
The section commander is responsible for planning the days of his protégés.
Haitian Creole and French courses, human rights and first aid training are provided by Haitian and American professionals for the benefit of police officers.
Kenyan officers undergo medical checkups to ensure they are fit to carry out their missions. A hospital has been set up for emergencies and common health problems.
Outside the hangars, driving lessons take place.
In Kenya, as in several East African countries, the steering wheel is on the right, and therefore driving is done on the left side of the road, unlike in Haiti where it is on the left. “This requires an adaptation,” the source continues.
The cuisine inside the camp is exclusively Haitian: rice and vegetables, natural juice, griyo, bannann…
There are no Kenyan culinary specialties on the menu, according to the source.
Religious life is a valued component within the camp.
Some police officers brought their Bibles to Haiti.
The Anglican Reverend, Constable Emmanuel Magut, one of the police officers, leads services every Sunday.
Sometimes, religious people from Port-au-Prince come to organize prayer and preaching services within the base on Saturdays and Sundays.
Watch an excerpt from a Sunday service at the Kenyan police base in Clercine
The police officers use their free time to listen to Haitian troubadour music, Benga or Kapuka, talk with their families back in Kenya or do weight training.
Benga and Kapuka are Kenyan musical genres that blend elements of traditional music with contemporary influences.
On July 30, 2024, a Kenyan police officer was injured during a clash between a Kenyan patrol and armed individuals in downtown Port-au-Prince.
“He is getting better and better. He will be able to start training again,” the source assured AyiboPost.
Par Wethzer Piercin
Cover image: Kenyan police officers stationed near the US Embassy in Tabarre, July 5, 2024. | © Jean Feguens Regala/AyiboPost
